By Lisa Hester
The topic of fake news on the internet has become a prime focus of discussion of late, most prevalently since the U.S. presidential election. The issue centers on widespread misinformation posing as legitimate news on the web and the influence that “fake news” has on readers.
Regardless of whether you personally agree or not that the apparent proliferation of fake news influenced the election, there is still much to be considered regarding the quantity, accessibility to and influence of this fake news. As a trained journalist and former newspaper editor, I am deeply concerned about this topic.
While Facebook and Google are cited most for providing access to fake news to readers, and thus the primary target of those actively trying to curb the amount of fake news on the internet, the reality is that fake news is found on a plethora of internet sites and newsfeeds.
Consensus about what to do about the issue, if anything, and how has still not been reached. But in the pursuit of truth in what we read, I urge each of you to be aware of the abundance of fake news and to do your part in ensuring that what you read, and further, what you share with others, is true and accurate.
To help, here are a few tips from Melissa Zimdars, assistant professor of communication and media at Massachusetts’ Merrimack College.
- Watch out for websites that end in “.com.co” – they are often fake versions of real news sources
- Don’t share something solely based on the headline
- Does the website have an “About Us” tab? Also look it up on Snopes.com or Wikipedia to see whether the source is legitimate.
- If the story makes you REALLY ANGRY, it’s probably a good idea to keep reading about the topic via other sources to make sure the story you read wasn’t purposefully trying to make you angry (with potentially misleading or false information) in order to generate shares and ad revenue.
- Look for visual cues – oftentimes, fake or misleading websites have a cheap-looking style. Red flags: ALL CAPS headlines, poor layout, signs of editing.
- Check if known/reputable news sites are not also reporting on the story. Typically, more there is more than one source reporting on a topic or event.
What do you think about this topic? And what, if anything, should be done to curb access to and prevalence of fake news on the internet?