Tips for identifying fake, real news
Slate.com
According to the Pew Research Center, over half of Americans participating in a study said they “often encountered political news that was not fully accurate” and a third of the people in the study said they “often found news that was completely made up.”
Despite crackdowns on fake news by large companies like Google and Facebook, fake news often falls through computer algorithms, meaning untrue articles may appear at the top of your news feed or internet search.
The best way to arm yourself against fake news is to be a smart consumer. Be wary of:
News from “shady” sources, including tabloids/internet tabloids
Articles with random capitalization, awkward word order, or clearly misplaced punctuation
Stories over a major event that is not also mentioned on a reputable news source
Overly one-sided articles
Articles that predict a future disaster or global event (i.e., WWIII)
Articles promoting a cure for a disease that is not verified by a reputable news or health source (i.e., a miracle cancer/weight loss pill)
Websites that have truth and satire side-by-side
News that seems too good/funny/interesting to be true
Information that only confirms biases
Websites ending with .co, .ru, etc. (including fake websites in disguise like abcnews.com.co)
News that manipulates reader anxieties or overly angers the reader
Suspicious-looking sponsored content
