Alternative facts, fake news, false tweets — we are bombarded by news stories from every direction. Many stories sound credible. How can we discern what to believe and what to toss into our trash bin? Fake news stories are intentionally fabricated and distorted news stories. Fake news should not be confused with satire, bias coverage, rumor mill, and junk science. Below are listed some sources to begin checking when there are doubts on the reliability and facts of headlines and other stories shared through the Internet or published in print.
But first, some simple guidelines for spotting fake news are:
Currency: Is the information recent?
Relevancy: Is it an original story or has it been published elsewhere?
Authority: Are there references or sources provided? Is the author an authority on the subject?
Purpose: Why was the article written and who is the intended audience? Is it opinion, first-hand account or researched article?
There are websites to help us identify fake news. For fact checking on urban legends, websites and stories, there a few reliable sources:
- Snopes is a well-established and reliable website focuses on urban legends, new stories and memes;
- Politifact is the Pulitzer Prize-winning site that researches claims of politicians and checks their accuracy;
- Fact check is from the well-known Annenberg Public Policy Center and is useful for checking on political claims;
- Hoax-Slayer zeros in on email hoaxes, identifies theft scams and spam, and is good for researching article authors and other people; and,
- LinkedIn, Google, and even Twitter are constructive sources.
For more political fact-checking sites for investigating corporate influences and governmental propaganda, The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a non-profit investigative reporting group. To maintain its impartiality, the CMD does not accept contributions from for-profit corporations or grants from the government. Publications of this organization include PRWatch and The SPIN, an e-periodical. SourceWatch specializes in a collaborative encyclopedia of people, groups and issues that are shaping the public agenda.
Penn State’s University Libraries recently published a guide to fake news that covers a spectrum of identifying fake news, why we should care care about fakes news, fact checking and news literacy. This guide lists credible news sources and information on how to choose your news, and includes information about using social media to share news.