Fake News: Source Evaluation: Home

Noun. False or inaccurate information, shared via traditional media or online, that is presented as a factual news story, image or video.

Related terms: Misinformation, Alternative Facts, Echo Chamber, Confirmation Bias, Filter Bubble

Fake news is not news you disagree with.

"Fake news" is "fabricated information that mimics news media content in form but not in organizational process or intent. Fake-news outlets, in turn, lack the news media's editorial norms and processes for ensuring the accuracy and credibility of information. Fake news overlaps with other information disorders, such as misinformation (false or misleading information) and disinformation (false information that is purposely spread to deceive people)." [David M. J. Lazer, et al., "The Science of Fake News," Science 09 Mar 2018: Vol. 359, Issue 6380, pp. 1094-1096.].

So what is fake news?  Why does it exist and why is it so believable?

Fake news usually is created to mislead readers for specific purposes such as financial gain through web traffic or to persuade or further specific viewpoints.  Because of this, it is important to think critically about all the information we read, hear, and see.  Bias is often present in all news, but fake news can be especially biased toward specific viewpoints.

What can we do? Check the facts.

Look for:

• Credentials or Authorship - Who has written/filmed/photographed this?  Who are they?  What do they know about the topic?  And do you trust them?
• Bias - Is it trying to persuade you?  Is it only representing one point of view?
• The Date - When was it written, published, filmed, released, etc.?  Is there even a date?
• Sources - If it is making specific claims or citing facts can you tell where or who they are coming from?

In the most general form, fake news has three characteristics: 

• factually inaccurate
• optimized for sharing
• meant to obscure or distort with emotions; preying on prejudice or bias

A news story is not fake simply because it is impolite or inconvenient.  A news story that challenges your beliefs or values isn't fake news.   A news story that is rejected by those in power does not make that story a fake news story either.  Case in point, Richard Nixon denied his involvement in Watergate at first too. 

What is not fake news?

• Satire (TheOnion, TheBeaverton)
• Honest reporting mistakes
• Journalism you don't like
   

Types of Fake News:

• Clickbait: a story, often sensational or featuring a sensational headline, geared toward getting “clicks” (to generate ad revenue)
  
   
• Sponsored content: a story that is made to appear as independent journalism when in fact it is public relations or advertising
  
   
• Fabricated journalism: news stories that are completely made up (including fabricated quotes and sources, etc.)
  

Fake News is easy to fall for, for a number of reasons:

• a growing decline in trust of the media and government
• people can now create content unburdened by the layers of editing and fact-checking that news organisations adhere to
• content is aggregated into a single “news” feed – mixing updates from friends and family with identical-looking links to stories across the web
• lower attention spans
• fake news stories appeal to our emotions
• proliferation of internet bots 
   

Bias

We all have biases.  However, it is up to us to recognize those biases and keep them in check.

Implicit bias: implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Implicit bias is grounded in a basic human tendency to divide the social world into groups. We are inclined to trust people we consider a member of our own group more than those of a different group.  Social media (facebook, twitter and the like) tend cultivate an information bubble - friends and family that share the same values and points of view.

Confirmation bias: is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses. We don’t perceive circumstances objectively. We pick out those bits of data that make us feel good because they confirm our preconceived notion of how things are supposed to be.