University of Kwazulu-Natal

Fake News Fake News How To Evaluate Information Avoid Mis

Bonisiwe Shabane
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fake news fake news how to evaluate information avoid mis

We live in what has been called a "post-truth era," in which people ignore facts and expertise, and simply believe whatever they want to believe. Fake news - false information that is widely shared on the internet - has become a massive problem for all of us, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Whether it's someone unintentionally sharing inaccurate information through social media, a fabricated story that's being disseminated to intentionally mislead readers, a politician lying repeatedly to the American public, or conspiracy theories about vaccines and... After all, we can't make good decisions if we don't have accurate, factual, and truthful information, and fake news deprives us of exactly that. And, of course, having inaccurate or false information harms your ability to succeed at the university level, as well. This guide provides you with definitions of different types of fake news, along with strategies and resources that can help you identify it, avoid it, and locate accurate information that can help you make...

Fake news generally comes in three forms: Many of the problems we have with fake news stem from the sheer volume of information we're constantly bombarded with through our phones, computers & tablets. Fake news spreads most effectively through sharing on social media, and yet studies have shown that a majority of links shared through Twitter and Facebook are not read first; people simply see a sensationalistic... It's up to us to sort through the information we receive, to sift out the good and throw away the bad, to embrace facts and truth while rejecting fake news and propaganda, and only... In the words of the Stony Brook Center for News Literacy, "It is a positive development that the public is now able to share their knowledge with others [via the internet], but as Uncle... When engaging with information, be it news stories or research for a class project, we should always try to maintain an open mind and a healthy level of skepticism so that we make sure...

Avoid the following behaviors that can lead to blind acceptance of fake news: CONFIRMATION BIAS--automatically believing information that agrees with our preexisting views, regardless of whether the source is valid. The slightly different DESIRABILITY BIAS is accepting information because it confirms what we WANT to believe. Consider the source: click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission, and its contact information Read Beyond: Headlines can be outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What's the whole story?

Check the author: do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real? Supporting sources:click on those links. Determine if the information given actually supports the story. Check the date: reposting old news stories doesn't mean they are relevant to current events.

Fake news refers to deliberate untruths, or stories that contain some truth but which aren't completely accurate, by accident or design. Some people also claim that truthful stories are "fake news," just because they don't agree with them. This can lead to the dangerous ignoring of vital advice. Fake news can have a negative impact on workplace behavior. For example, by damaging learning culture, and causing rumor and mistrust to spread. So, it's vital to know how to separate the real from the fake.

You can do this by following these six steps: Source: "How to Spot Real and Fake News: Critically Appraising Information" (MindTools). The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) created the "How to Spot Fake News" infographic that identifies eight simple steps. The infographic is based on a 2016 article and video by FactCheck.org on how to discover the verifiability of "news" that captures your attention. Links to the article and video appear under the infographic. Why should you care about whether or not your news is real or fake?

*Design layout for SIFT based on shared image from the University of Oregon With practice, you can learn to recognize features of fake news articles such as: strange URLs; authors with a history of writing fake or misleading news; provocative or inflammatory headlines; article content that doesn't... Use the tips in the video and articles below to help you practice looking for these things. See the "Evaluating Sources" page of this guide for more tips. Several scholars and journalists have compiled lists of fake news sites. Here are some of the best:

See the Evaluating Sources tab for more evaluation strategies. This tutorial covers how to identify and analyze different types of misinformation, and provides some strategies for evaluating news sources and finding more reliable information on the internet. If you have trouble accessing this tutorial from off campus, try logging into My.SBCC.edu in a different browser tab, then reloading this page. If that doesn't work, follow the direct red link in the title above to open the tutorial outside of this guide. A - author. Who wrote the resource?

Who are they? Background information matters. C - currency. When was this resource written? When was it published? Does this resource fit into the currency of your topic?

T - truth. How accurate is this information? Can you verify any of the claims in other sources? Are there typos and spelling mistakes? U - unbiased. Is the information presented to sway the audience to a particular point of view?

Resources unless otherwise stated should be impartial. P - privilege. Check the privilege of the author(s). Are they the only folks who might write or publish on this topic? Who is missing in this conversation? Critically evaluate the subject terms associated with each resource you found.

How are they described? What are the inherent biases? Did your mother call you to tell you that liberals hate science? Did your Facebook feed pop up with an article on a new pesticide that's going to kill us all? Did one of your friends breathlessly tell you that President Trump was going to pardon mass shooter Dylann Roof? You might have heard any or all of these stories, but there's one thread connecting all of them: they're not true.

The ability to tell accurate news from fake news is an important skill that you'll use for the rest of your life. This research guide will give you insights on telling fact from fiction online, plus a chance to exercise your newfound skills. Why should you care about whether your news is real or fake? Thank you to our colleagues at Indiana University East for Creative Commons licensing their guide, on which we've based ours. Please feel free to share this guide with others. If you are a librarian, you are welcome to use this guide and its contents for your own purposes.

In the best of all possible worlds, we wouldn't have to deal with fake news at all, and all the information we consumed would be legitimate. But unfortunately, fake news is everywhere, and thus each of us needs to be the ultimate fact checker for the information we consume. Keep these tips in mind when consuming information. They can help you spot fake news stories. When consuming stories and information online, take the following six steps to check for legitimacy. Don't automatically assume a story is accurate just because it includes statistics.

Stats and data can easily be manipulated to prove a specific point. Crumb Library: 315-267-2485 Crane Library: 315-267-2451 library@potsdam.edu Text Us!: 315-277-3730 A more comprehensive list of fake news can be found at the Daily Dot. We know that the creators of fake news and fake news sites check verified news sources. They use facts from these verified news outlets and layer it with misinformation to confuse the reader. When confronted by both the fake news and verified news, people tend to discount both the misinformation and the facts.

That's the power of fake news. Additionally, most adults use social media to get their news. Columbia Journalism Review reports that 30% of fake news can be linked back to Facebook while only 8% of verified news is linked from Facebook. There are fewer fake news sources than verified news sources but with social media, their reach is that much more pronounced. By the end of this talk, there will be 864 more hours of video on YouTube and 2.5 million more photos on Facebook and Instagram. So how do we sort through the deluge?

At the TEDSalon in London, Markham Nolan shares the investigative techniques he and his team use to verify information in real-time, to let you know if that Statue of Liberty image has been doctored... Here are 6 ways you can make a difference NOW by evaluating and engaging.

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We Live In What Has Been Called A "post-truth Era,"

We live in what has been called a "post-truth era," in which people ignore facts and expertise, and simply believe whatever they want to believe. Fake news - false information that is widely shared on the internet - has become a massive problem for all of us, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Whether it's someone unintentionally sharing inaccurate information through social media, a fabricated...

Fake News Generally Comes In Three Forms: Many Of The

Fake news generally comes in three forms: Many of the problems we have with fake news stem from the sheer volume of information we're constantly bombarded with through our phones, computers & tablets. Fake news spreads most effectively through sharing on social media, and yet studies have shown that a majority of links shared through Twitter and Facebook are not read first; people simply see a sen...

Avoid The Following Behaviors That Can Lead To Blind Acceptance

Avoid the following behaviors that can lead to blind acceptance of fake news: CONFIRMATION BIAS--automatically believing information that agrees with our preexisting views, regardless of whether the source is valid. The slightly different DESIRABILITY BIAS is accepting information because it confirms what we WANT to believe. Consider the source: click away from the story to investigate the site, i...

Check The Author: Do A Quick Search On The Author.

Check the author: do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real? Supporting sources:click on those links. Determine if the information given actually supports the story. Check the date: reposting old news stories doesn't mean they are relevant to current events.

Fake News Refers To Deliberate Untruths, Or Stories That Contain

Fake news refers to deliberate untruths, or stories that contain some truth but which aren't completely accurate, by accident or design. Some people also claim that truthful stories are "fake news," just because they don't agree with them. This can lead to the dangerous ignoring of vital advice. Fake news can have a negative impact on workplace behavior. For example, by damaging learning culture, ...