LibGuides: Fake News: Evaluating Sources

What's Wrong with Fake News?

Why should you care about whether or not your news is real or fake?

You deserve the truth. You are smart enough to make up your own mind - as long as you have the real facts in front of you. You have every right to be insulted when you read fake news, because you are in essence being treated like an idiot.
Fake news destroys your credibility. If your arguments are built on bad information, it will be much more difficult for people to believe you in the future.
Fake news can hurt you, and a lot of other people. Purveyors of fake and misleading medical advice like Mercola.com and NaturalNews.com help perpetuate myths like HIV and AIDS aren't related, or that vaccines cause autism. These sites are heavily visited and their lies are dangerous.
Real news can benefit you. If you want to buy stock in a company, you want to read accurate articles about that company so you can invest wisely. If you are planning on voting in an election, you want to read as much good information on a candidate so you can vote for the person who best represents your ideas and beliefs.

Fake news will not help you make money or make the world a better place, but real news can.

Credit: KT Lowe at Indiana University East

Ask Yourself..

When reading the news, if you think the information is questionable, ask yourself:

Who owns the Web site and put up the information?
Is it an individual person? Is it an expert? Is the site owned by a university, government, or professional group?
How did you find the Web site? A search engine will index reliable and unreliable sites. Did you find the site through a link on another site that was very reliable?
How current or recent is the information on the site? Is information backed up with studies and research? Information can change almost as soon as it is put on the Web. More recent information is more reliable than old data.
Are there links to other sites showing similar information? Do the links work?
Does the site use data and research from government and scientific studies
What is the purpose of the site? Is it selling something, expressing an opinion, or talking about both sides of a topic? Does the information make sense or feel right?
Does the Web site look professional, or does it have a lot of mistakes and typos in it? Is there a way to contact the site owner?

Reference: Gregson, S. R. (2008). Get your information the smart way. Cyber literacy: Evaluating the reliability of data. (pp. 24-27). New York, NY, Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

How to choose your news

What kinds of Fake News exist?

There are four broad categories of fake news, according to media professor Melissa Zimdars of Merrimack College.

CATEGORY 1: Fake, false, or regularly misleading websites that are shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits.

CATEGORY 2: Websites that may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information

CATEGORY 3: Websites which sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions

CATEGORY 4: Satire/comedy sites, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news

No single topic falls under a single category - for example, false or misleading medical news may be entirely fabricated (Category 1), may intentionally misinterpret facts or misrepresent data (Category 2), may be accurate or partially accurate but use an alarmist title to get your attention (Category 3) or may be a critique on modern medical practice (Category 4.) Some articles fall under more than one category. Assessing the quality of the content is crucial to understanding whether what you are viewing is true or not. It is up to you to do the legwork to make sure your information is good.

Credit: KT Lowe, Indiana University East