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Fake News

This guide is all about news, newspapers and so called Fake News. What it is, What it means, How to spot it and how to find quality, reliable information.

What is Fake News?

Definition of Fake News

 

UNESCO defines three types of false information:

  • Disinformation: Information that is false and deliberately created to harm a person, social group, organisation or country
  • Misinformation: Information that is false but not created with the intention of causing harm
  • Mal-information: Information that is based on reality, used to inflict harm on a person, social group, organisation or country.

 

The BBC has suggested there are basically two kinds of Fake News:

  1. False stories that are deliberately published or posted to either make people believe something that is totally untrue or to get lots of people to visit a certain website.    
  2. Stories that may have some truth in them, but are not completely accurate. This may be because the people writing them - journalists or bloggers for example - don't check all the facts before publishing or posting their story, or may exaggerate some of it to try and get more attention.

How to spot Fake News

 

How to spot fake news

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has suggested the following approaches to spot fake news.

  • Consider the source: Click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission and its contact info.

  • Check the author: Do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real?

  • Check the date: Reposting old news stories doesn’t mean they’re relevant to current events.

  • Check your biases: Consider if your own beliefs could affect your judgement.

  • Read beyond: Headlines can be outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What’s the whole story?

  • Supporting sources? Click on those links. Determine if the info given actually supports the story.

  • Is it a joke? If it is too outlandish, it might be satire. Research the site and author to be sure.

  • Ask the experts: Ask a librarian, or consult a fact-checking site.

Detailed infographic is also available online.

 

Research skills -Transferable skills

1. Consider the Source

Try to investigate the source – its creator(s), its purpose and its mission

Ask: Is it real? What is its agenda? Are its contact details genuine?

2. Read Beyond

Headlines and stories can be deliberately provocative and outrageous to make you click on them 

Ask: What's the whole story? Is there a broader context? Is the story being reported elsewhere?

3. Supporting Sources

Click on supporting sources – they can often help determine if a story is real and reliable

Ask: Are the supporting sources fully  reinforcing the story or has information been taken from them out of context?

4. Check the Date

Reposting old stories doesn't mean they're still relevant, accurate or helpful – things move on quickly! 

Ask: Can you see or identify a date? That can provide helpful context

5. Consider your own Biases

We all hold beliefs and assumptions – sometimes we may want things to be true because they reinforce what we already think and feel 

Ask: Could your own biases be influencing how you're judging information? 

 

 

Fact Checker sites

Tips for Checking Facts:

  1. When you open up a news article in your browser, open a second, empty tab. Use that second window to look up claims, author credentials and organizations that you come across in the article.
  2. Fake news spans across all kinds of media - printed and online articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, radio shows, even still images. Be prepared to double-check everything.
  3. Beware of confirmation bias.  Just because you might agree with what an article is saying doesn't mean it's true.
  4. "Constant Vigilance!" as Mad-Eye Moody said in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Always be ready to fact check.
  5. Even the best researchers will be fooled once in a while.  If you find yourself fooled by a fake news story, use your experience as a learning tool.

Fact Checkers

Browsers:

There are plenty of Add on extensions for Firefox - try FakerFact which checks the reliability of a website. 

To quickly check if a site or a specific URL is safe, you can use Google Safe browsing web checker.

Images:

  • Image search TinEye will show the originality of a picture or photo and where it appears on the web. 
  • On an Andriod phone or tablet you can also use Google's Reverse image search to see where pictures originated from. 

TV:

BBC news creates and shares fact checking department BBC Verify

WebSite Checkers:

YouTube Videos:

Social Media: