{"id":1867,"date":"2017-02-24T13:37:54","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T13:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aulibrarynews.wordpress.com\/?p=1867"},"modified":"2017-02-24T13:37:54","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T13:37:54","slug":"fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/2017\/02\/24\/fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake News!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fake News:
\nWhat it is, How to Spot it and How to Kill it.
\nYou cannot turn on the TV, radio or get online these days without hearing about the epidemic of fake news. Fake news, unlike satire, is propaganda, a hoax or other misinformation that is deliberately spread to mislead and influence people. It\u2019s not a new concept, but recently fake news seems to be growing in pervasiveness and sophistication; making it harder to spot for the average reader.
\nSocial media seems to be a breeding ground, but fake news is found in traditional media outlets as well. And the problem only gets bigger. In the words of Snopes.com<\/a> founder David Mikkelson, \u201cThe fictions and fabrications that comprise fake news are but a subset of the larger bad news<\/em> phenomenon, which also encompasses many forms of shoddy, unresearched, error-filled, and deliberately misleading reporting that do a disservice to everyone.\u201d
\n\"thumbnail_abe-lincoln\"
\nWhat\u2019s being done?<\/strong>
\nSome sites like Facebook and Google are stepping up with changes. According to an article in BetaNews<\/a>, Facebook has rolled out some key changes to combat the tidal wave of fake news stating, \u201cFacebook will no longer personalize news for individual users [and] headlines and sources will be listed alongside topic headings to help give context.\u201d And both Facebook and Google are taking steps to keep fake news sites from cashing in on their advertising networks according to the New York Times<\/a>.
\nSlate.com has introduced a Chrome browser extension called This Is Fake<\/a> which will alert you to stories Slate.com had deemed \u201cfake\u201d.
\nAnother Chrome extension, the B.S. Detector<\/a> flags stories found on a list of sites \u201clikely to contain false information presented as news.\u201d
\nThese tools above are handy, but they rely on someone else\u2019s opinion of what is true and reliable. Their determinations should not stand in for what you<\/u> have determined to be true and reliable. Don\u2019t put your faith in these online flags and alerts. \u00a0They should just be another factor to consider.
\nWhat can you<\/em> do?<\/strong>
\nThe problem isn\u2019t just the existence of fake news, but our ability to spot it.
\nA recent study<\/a> from Stanford University states that, \u201cwith a stunning and dismaying consistency…young people\u2019s ability to reason about the information on the Internet can be summed up in one word: bleak.\u201d
\nTo sharpen your critical thinking skills, the next time you read an article put it to the
\nCRAAP Test<\/a>. \u00a0In brief, the CRAAP Test suggests checking the following:
\nCurrency:<\/strong> When was the information published or posted? \u00a0Has the information been revised or updated?
\nRelevance:<\/strong> Who is the intended audience?
\nAuthority:<\/strong> Who is the author\/publisher\/source\/sponsor? \u00a0What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations? \u00a0Is the author qualified to write on the topic? \u00a0Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
\nAccuracy:<\/strong> Where does the information come from? \u00a0Is the information supported by evidence? \u00a0Has the information been reviewed or refereed? \u00a0\u00a0Are there spelling, grammar or typographical errors?
\nPurpose:<\/strong> \u00a0What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade? \u00a0Do the authors\/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
\nAnother great source of tips on spotting fake news is FactCheck.org<\/a>
\nPerhaps the hardest part of the fact-checking process is examining your own bias. \u00a0If a story speaks so directly to your own views that it seems too good to be true-it just might be. Remember, every human being has a bias. Full disclosure: as the author of this article I have a bias. I\u2019m a librarian so my job in life is to teach people to think critically and evaluate information. I am not impartial to this issue of critically examining what you read and hear. I am actively trying to get you to do it.
\nStopping Fake News<\/strong>
\nLastly, think before you share. \u00a0The only way to stop the spread of fake news is to stop spreading fake news. \u00a0Seems kind of obvious right? It\u2019s so easy to automatically hit \u201cLike\u201d or \u201cShare\u201d or re-tweet something you read before checking it out. \u00a0But when you do that you are contributing to the glut of malarkey on the internet that makes it harder to find the good stuff. \u00a0It\u2019s already hard enough to wade through the cesspool without people raising the high water line.
\nBut don\u2019t take my word for it. Check out the sources I linked to. \u00a0Make up your own mind. There is no substitute for your own eyes and brain.
\nNever shut off your brain.
\n 
\nImage credits: https:\/\/firstdraftnews.com\/how-to-stop-fake-news-on-facebook-without-the-flags\/<\/a>
\n 
\nhttp:\/\/www.snopes.com\/2016\/01\/14\/fake-news-sites\/<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fake News: What it is, How to Spot it and How to Kill it. You cannot turn on the TV, radio or get online these days without hearing about the epidemic of fake news. Fake news, unlike satire, is propaganda, a hoax or other misinformation that is deliberately spread to mislead and influence people. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":1869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.alfred.edu\/aulibrarynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}