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just because it’s on the internet so it’s not trueIt sounds so easy, but Facebook and Google wouldn’t need it if everyone knew it. Pulling Fake News Sites from Advertising Algorithms And people don’t breathlessly share stories claiming that Donald Trump is a secret lizard figure, or that Hillary Clinton is a pantsuit android.
You don’t have to do it this way.fake news is really easy to find – if you know how. Consider this a New Media Literacy Guide.
Note: To put this together, we solicited the input of two communications experts. Dr. Melissa ZimdersAssociate Professor, Merrimack College, Massachusetts whose dynamic List of untrusted news sites go viral, Alexios Manzaristhe head of International fact-checking network at the Pointer Institute.
First, understand the different types of misleading and false news
1. Fake news
2. Misleading news
3. Highly partisan news
4. Clickbait
5. Satire
Second, hone your fact-checking skills
For starters, here are 10 questions to ask if something looks fake.
jim dahl says Sites with strange suffixes Anything like ‘.co’ or ‘.su’ or hosted by a third-party platform like WordPress should raise a red flag. Some fake sites, like National Report, have legitimate-sounding names that are not overly generic, making it easy to dupe people on social sites. For example, several fake reports from abcnews.com.co went viral before being exposed. These include his June article claiming that President Obama signed an order banning the sale of offensive weapons.
According to Manzaris, one of the biggest reasons fake news spreads on Facebook is because people are sucked into the headlines. No need to click.
Just this week, several dubious organizations circulated articles about Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi. “Pepsi stock plummets after CEO tells Trump supporters to ‘move their business elsewhere,'” blew up one such headline.
However, the article itself didn’t include that quote, nor any evidence that Pepsi’s stock price had fallen significantly (it didn’t). Nooyi made a recorded comment about Trump’s election. but was never quoted told his supporters to “move their business elsewhere”.
Sometimes Legitimate news stories can be twisted and revived Years after the fact creates a false confusion of events. Mantzarlis recalls a false story, in fact he quoted legitimate news from CNNMoney.
A blog called Viral Liberty recently reported that Ford moved production of some of its trucks from Mexico to Ohio following Donald Trump’s election victory. The story quickly went viral online. After all, this seemed like a big win for the domestic auto industry.
It turns out that Ford moved some of its manufacturing from Mexico to Ohio. 2015It had nothing to do with the election results.
photos and videos taken out of context To support false claims. In April, the liberal site Occupy Democrats posted a video that allegedly showed a young woman being pulled out of a bathroom by police because she didn’t look feminine enough. This was at the height of HB2’s “bathroom bill” controversy, and the article he clearly linked the two. I read the headline “IT BEGINS”.
However, there was no date on the video, nor evidence that it was filmed in North Carolina, where the “bathroom bill” was due to be passed.
actually, According to Snoopsthe same video was published on their Facebook page in 2015.
Political news isn’t the only thing that can be fake. Now8News is one of the most notorious fake-but-genuine-looking sites he specializes in bizarre news stories that often go viral.
One such article claims that Coca-Cola recalled Dasani’s water bottles after “clear parasites” were found in the water. A few basic Google searches also attached a picture of the grossout allegedly showing the parasite. It was revealed that it was most likely a photo of a young eel.
Anyway, the article says No statements or claims from any companyClearly this is going to be a big story. Will Dasani or any of the consumer advocacy groups publish a statement or news release about it? Nothing will be found as the story is 100% fake.
A favorite meme from a liberal Facebook group includes a fake Donald Trump quote, allegedly from a 1998 People magazine interview.
“If I run, I will run as a Republican. They are the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie, and they still eat it. My numbers are going to be great.”
This is easily debunked with a little thought. People.com has a huge archive, which is I can’t find the quotes anywhere in them.
During this election season, Pope Francis was embroiled in three highly viral and completely false stories. According to various (fake) websites, the Pope endorsed his three US presidential candidates. First, National Reports and he’s Bernie Sanders “reported” by USAToday.com.co. Then there’s Donald Trump, “reported” by fake news site WTOE 5 News. Finally, another fake news site, KYPO6.com, reported that he endorsed Hillary Clinton.
In all these cases, all subsequent reports have reverted to bogus reports.it’s always good trace the story back to its original sourceif you’re stuck in a loop, or they all return to the same questionable site, you have reason to suspect.
Both Jimdahl and Manzaris say Why confirmation bias is so important Fake news spreads that way. Some of it is built into Facebook’s algorithm. The more people are interested in or interact with a particular interest, the more people Facebook will show you who are related to that interest.
Similarly, people who dislike Donald Trump are more likely to believe negative stories about Donald Trump to be true, even if they have no evidence.
“We’re looking for information that already fits established beliefs,” says Zimdars. “Even if they come in contact with information that we disagree with, they may double-check us because they will try to find fault.”
So if you come across an outrageous article that feels ‘too good’, be careful.
Did you know that it actually exists? International fact-checking network (Which Manzaris headed)? And does it have a code of principle? This Code contains, among other things, ideals of non-partisanship and transparency. Sites like FactCheck.org, Snopes, and Politifact adhere to this code, so if you see a rant there, you’re getting the real thing. Full list here.
Here is things can get trickyThere is clearly a big difference between ‘misleading’ news, which is usually based on fact, and ‘fake’ news, which is just fiction masquerading as fact. Zimdars now famous list We cover both types, as well as satires and sites that utilize clickbait-type headlines. Snoop also maintains a list.
Zimdars is happy that her list has gotten a lot of attention, but cautions that outright dismissing some sites as “fake” isn’t accurate. “I don’t want this list to have a huge negative impact on my ultimate goal,” she says. “Interestingly, some of the headlines [about my list] As hyperbolic as the one I’m analyzing. ”