SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited (TSX-V: DM) A revenue generating small cap A.I. company that NATO and Canadian Defence are using to fight fake news & social media threats. The company is working with US Government agencies on Covid19 and Coronavirus fake news and disinformation. The company also obtained the rights to import and sell COVID-19 test kits from South Korea – Click here for more info.
Five Tell-Tale Signs Of A Fake News Story
- As you know, there has been a lot of talk about fake news stories lately, and tech companies, like Facebook and Google, have been looking for ways to incorporate fact-checking into their operations
- These attempts to keep misinformation at bay will no doubt be helpful, but in the end, much of the responsibility lies with the readers themselves
By: Bernadette Coleman
The other day, I shared a news story I had received in my inbox with my husband. After reading him the email, he gave me a glance, slowly put the “loser†finger sign to his forehead in jest and simply said, “fake news.†Was it? At first glance, I didn’t think it was, so I looked again.
As you know, there has been a lot of talk about fake news stories lately, and tech companies, like Facebook and Google, have been looking for ways to incorporate fact-checking into their operations. These attempts to keep misinformation at bay will no doubt be helpful, but in the end, much of the responsibility lies with the readers themselves. I decided to not fall for fake news again.
It was at that moment of clarity that I really started looking. Now, if I encounter a news story that seems rather odd or hard to believe, I thoroughly vet that information as well as I can before passing it on to my husband and friends or discussing it with my colleagues at work. As I recently found out, falling for a fake news story can leave you feeling gullible, and passing on that false information could have far-reaching implications for the wider population. At least it will have your significant other looking at you oddly.
I figured the best defense against being suckered in by all the misinformation on the internet is to be well-read and well-informed on topics that interest me. The more I know about the world around me, the easier it will be for me to spot the tell-tale signs of a fake news story.
So here are some signs that the story you and I are reading may be less than truthful.
1. Unusual Or Unknown Web Addresses
Whether you are browsing through your Facebook feed, checking out your favorite news aggregator or reviewing the results of your latest search query, pay careful attention to the source of the story. You should be checking out the URL associated with the news story.
An unusual or unknown web address is a big red flag and a sign that you are dealing with a fake news source. Watch out for URLs that look similar to real news sources. Sites like msnbc.com.com or nytimes.biz may appear legitimate at first glance, but the unusual web address is a dead giveaway.
2. A Lack Of Corroboration
If a major political party candidate has been indicted on the eve of an election, you would expect to find those news headlines everywhere. If all you can find is a single headline in your Facebook newsfeed, you can be fairly certain the story is fake.
Whenever you spot an unusual story or piece of late-breaking news, you should first look for corroboration elsewhere. If the story is legitimate, it will show up on mainstream news sites that you recognize. If the story is a fake, it will probably be confined to more questionable sites, and that lack of corroboration should lead you to do further research.
3. An Old Date On A ‘Breaking’ News Story
One common trick of fake news publishers is presenting an outdated or previously debunked story as breaking news. When users click on a banner headline in search of breaking news, they often find an old story presented as if it were brand new.
Get into the habit of checking the dates on stories you read and links you click. If the date is an old one, you can be sure you are not dealing with new information.
You can go further and check to see if the story has been debunked since its original publication. Myth-busting sites like Snopes.com can be great for this kind of thing.
4. An Obvious Slant Or Bias By The Authors
One of the hallmarks of professional journalists is their independence, so an obvious slant or bias by the author can be a red flag. Even jaded readers who feel the mainstream media carries an inherent bias should be suspicious of stories that appear to support one side over the other in an obvious way, so always ask yourself what the writer has to gain.
A certain degree of bias is to be expected in an opinion piece or editorial. However, if the story is presented as straight reporting or journalism, an obvious slant might be an indication that the entire piece is fake.
5. A Sensational Headline
News writers work hard to get the attention of their readers. That is what headline writing is all about. That same dynamic holds true on the internet, where the competition for eyeballs is even more intense. Even so, if a headline seems like clickbait, it probably is.
A sensational headline is one of the tell-tale signs of a fake news story, and you should proceed with caution when you see one. If the headline would be more at home on a supermarket tabloid than in a real newspaper, the associated story could be fake.
Despite the efforts of Facebook, Google and other online giants, fake news stories are unlikely to disappear any time soon. With so many sites competing for viewers and so much money to be made, fake news publishers will probably be around for quite some time. The best way to protect yourself is to be an educated reader. The more you know, the easier it will be to tell the fake news stories from their legitimate counterparts.
I believe we need to cultivate an awareness of what’s fake and what’s not fake on the internet. Helping people understand that when they share fake news, they are littering our space is a must. We can only do this if we do this together!
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/06/04/five-tell-tale-signs-of-a-fake-news-story/#619fd7ad7d79
