As I scroll through my Facebook feed each day I come across tons of articles my friends have shared which make false or weak claims. It seems that now days we are so protective of our own political views we are willing to share anything that leans in our favor when the truth is most news that leans one way or the other is fake news. We live in a new era where anyone with an opinion and a laptop can become a blogger and it is important that as the media evolves we as readers evolve as well to be able to sift through what is true or false. Here is a short guide to help you pick fake news out online.
You are probably reading “fake news” if…
1. Multiple Advertisements to the point to where you cannot read the article without closing or clicking on the ads pop up
This is a common practice in smaller websites because they get money for each person who views or clicks on the ad. In order to draw in more revenue these sources will write over the top flashy articles to get more traffic on their website viewing their ads.
2. The title is a blunt claim, offensive, or overly one sided
Following suit with the first bullet on this list now days advertisements are the main source of revenue for online media leading to a lot of sources using “click bait” or an overly radical title to draw in more “clicks” and more viewers of their ads. The problem with this is sometimes these articles are strong claims with no proof that were simply written to help bring in revenue.
3. The article is from an extremely left or right news source
The big problem with extremely left or right leaning news sources is what news they choose to share. While most news publications now days will slightly lean one way or the other they still share the facts regardless of which side it plays to and will comment on said information after the facts are laid out. Sources which only play to one side or the other can be selective in what they share and some can even share false claims to help fuel the fire.
4. There is no credible proof to support the claim in the article
If you are reading an article and there are bold claims made such as“Scientists agree that climate change is false” or “Vaccinations lead to autism” your first thoughts should be who is making these claims, what studies have been done to prove these claims, and who conducted these studies.If someone is writing these claims with no credentials in the area of expertise and there is no credible evidence to prove the points being made then it is a weak and most likely false argument.
“But Emily, this article looks fine how can I check?”
If you think you might be reading something legitimate but you are not sure the easiest go to method of checking is your handy Google search bar. If you Google the topic and news from reliable news outlets such as ABC, CBS, or NBC then read those articles and see if the information matches. If you Google the topic of the article and nothing else but that article comes up you are probably reading fake news.
“This all sounds pretty self explanatory”
Yes, deciphering between true and false news is relatively simple but requires more effort than a good majority of social media users are willing to put in. It is important that as a society we start putting the fire under our media outlets to start writing legitimate news. My comp professor this semester always says, “Read as a believer and read as a doubter.” Basically meaning to read with an open mind but also be critical of possible holes and problems within the piece. If we follow this practice you can learn a lot from different sides of an argument but also know the difference between fact and falsehood.