How to Identify Fake News

Photo by Oleg Magni: https://www.pexels.com/photo/internet-connection-technology-blur-2733665/

Check your pulse.

If you find yourself having an immediate emotional reaction (for example, feeling enraged, or smug), consider that the news item may be false, and may have been created to make you share or click the link. If this happens, check another source.

Evaluate the URL.

Sites that end in “.lo” or that append well-known news sites with “.com.co” tend to be biased and not authentic or authoritative.

Look into the title and domain.

While not guaranteed indicators of fake or biased content, words like “wordpress” or “blog” in the domain typically mean that the site is a personal blog rather than an established news source.

Check the “About Us” section–or note its absence.

Sites without clear ownership or contact information beyond a generic email address should be suspect.

Beware of poor grammar, ALL CAPS, and excessive exclamation points!!!!

Lack of copyediting and effective proofreading may indicate a biased source, bot, or automated aggregator.

Check Snopes and Wikipedia.

Enter the source name into these two sites, which may offer information on whether the content is legitimate or suspect/scammy. If you suspect a Wikipedia entry itself may be biased, click on “view history” in the top right corner to see contributors, and then search for them.

Resist clickbait.

Sites that have generally credible stories but use exaggerated, misleading, or “listy” headlines may be clickbait, profiting from each click-through or affiliate share made by a visitor. Some legitimate (or borderline legitimate) new sites also use sensational headlines, however, so seek multiple sources to confirm content.