All of it\u2019s out there. And knowing how to separate truth from fact has never been of more importance, particularly as more and more people get their news via social media.<\/p>\n
Pew Research<\/a>\u00a0found that\u00a0about\u00a0a third of Americans say they regularly get their news from Facebook and nearly 1 in 4 say they regularly get it from YouTube. Moreover, global research from\u00a0Reuters<\/a>\u00a0uncovered that more people primarily get their news from social media (30%) rather than from an established news site or app (22%). This marks the first time that social media has toppled direct access to news.<\/p>\n Yet, you can spot fake news. Plenty of it.<\/p>\n The process starts with a crisp definition of what fake news is, followed by the forms it takes, and then a sense of what the goals behind it are. With that, you can apply a critical eye and pick out the telltale signs.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll cover it all here.<\/p>\n A textbook definition of fake news goes something like this:<\/p>\n A false news story, fabricated with no verifiable facts, and presented in a way to appear as legitimate news.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n As for its intent, fake news often seeks to damage the reputation of an individual, institution, or organization. It might also spout propaganda or attempt to undermine established facts.<\/p>\n That provides a broad definition. Yet, like much fake news itself, the full definition is much more nuanced. Within fake news, you\u2019ll find two categories: disinformation and misinformation:<\/p>\n From there, fake news gets more nuanced still. Misinformation and disinformation fall within a range. Some of it might appear\u00a0comical,\u00a0while other types might have the potential to do actual harm.<\/p>\n Dr. Claire Wardle, the co-director of the Information Futures Lab at Brown University, cites seven types of misinformation and disinformation on a scale as visualized below:<\/p>\n Source: FirstDraftNews.org and Brown University<\/p>\n Put in a real-life context, you can probably conjure up plenty of examples where you\u2019ve seen. Like clickbait headlines that link to letdown articles with little substance. Maybe you\u2019ve seen a quote pasted on the image of a public figure, a quote that person never made. Perhaps an infographic, loaded with bogus statistics and attributed to an organization that doesn\u2019t even exist. It can take all forms.<\/p>\n The answers here vary as well. Fake news can begin with a single individual, groups of like-minded individuals with an agenda, and it can even come from operatives for various nation-states. As for why, they might want to poke fun at someone, drive ad revenue through clickbait articles, or spout propaganda.<\/p>\n Once more, a visualization provides clarity in this sometimes-murky mix of fake news:<\/p>\n Source \u2013 FirstDraftNews.org and Brown University<\/p>\n In the wild, some examples of fake news and the reasons behind it\u00a0might\u00a0look like this:<\/p>\n Perhaps a few of these examples ring a bell. You might have come across some where you weren\u2019t exactly sure\u00a0if it\u00a0was fake news or not.<\/p>\n The following tools can help you know for sure.<\/p>\n Some of the oldest advice is the best advice, and that holds true here: consider the source. Take time to examine the information you come across. Look at its source. Does that source have a track record of honesty and dealing plainly with the facts?<\/p>\n This falls under a similar category as \u201cconsider the source.\u201d Plenty of fake news will take an old story and repost it or alter it in some way to make it appear relevant to current events. In recent years, we\u2019ve seen fake news creators slap a new headline on a new photo, all to make it seem like it\u2019s something current. Once again, a quick search can help you tell if it\u2019s fake or not. Try a reverse image search and see what comes up. Is the photo indeed current? Who took it? When, and where?<\/p>\n Has a news story you\u2019ve read or watched ever made you shake your fist at the screen or want to clap and cheer? How about something that made you fearful or simply laugh? Bits of content that evoke strong emotional responses tend to spread quickly, whether they\u2019re articles, a post, or even a tweet. That\u2019s a ready sign that a quick fact check\u00a0might\u00a0be in order. The content is clearly playing to your biases.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a good reason for that. Bad actors who wish to foment unrest, unease, or spread disinformation use emotionally driven content to plant a seed. Whether or not their original story gets picked up and viewed firsthand doesn\u2019t matter to these bad actors.<\/p>\n Their aim is to get some manner of disinformation out into the ecosystem. They rely on others who will re-post, re-tweet, or otherwise pass it along on their behalf, to the point where the original source of the information gets completely lost. This is one instance where people readily begin to accept certain information as fact, even if it\u2019s not factual at all.<\/p>\n Certainly, some legitimate articles will generate a response as well, yet it\u2019s a good habit to do a quick fact check and confirm what you\u2019ve read.<\/p>\n A single information source or story won\u2019t provide a complete picture. It\u00a0might\u00a0only cover a topic from a certain angle or narrow focus. Likewise, information sources are helmed by editors and stories are written by people\u2014all of whom have their biases, whether overt or subtle. It\u2019s for this reason that expanding your media diet to include a broad range of information sources is so important.<\/p>\n So, see what other information sources have to say on the same topic. Consuming news across a spectrum will expose you to thoughts and coverage you might not otherwise get if you keep your consumption to a handful of sources. The result is that you\u2019re more broadly informed and can\u00a0compare\u00a0different sources and points of view. Using the tips above, you can find other reputable sources to round out your media diet.<\/p>\n Additionally, for a list of reputable information sources, along with the\u00a0reasons\u00a0they\u2019re reputable, check out \u201c10 Journalism Brands Where You Find Real Facts Rather Than Alternative Facts\u201d published by\u00a0Forbes<\/i>\u00a0and authored by an associate professor at The King\u2019s College in New York City. It certainly isn\u2019t the end all, be all of lists, yet it should provide you with a good starting point.<\/p>\n De-bunking fake news takes time and effort. Often a bit of digging and research too. Professional fact-checkers at news and media organizations do this work daily. Posted for all to see, they provide a quick way to get your answers. Some fact-checking groups include:<\/p>\n As AI continues its evolution, it gets trickier and trickier to spot it in images, video, and audio. Advances in AI give images a clarity and crispness that they didn\u2019t have before, deepfake videos play more smoothly, and voice cloning gets uncannily accurate.<\/p>\n Yet even with the best AI, scammers often leave their fingerprints all over the fake news content they create. Look for the following:<\/p>\n AI fakes usually don\u2019t appear by themselves. There\u2019s often text or a larger article around them. Inspect the text for typos, poor grammar, and overall poor composition. Look to see if the text even makes sense. And like legitimate news articles, does it include identifying information\u2014like date, time, and place of publication, along with the author\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Does the image seem too bizarre to be real? Too good to be true? Today, \u201cDon\u2019t believe everything you read on the internet,\u201d now includes \u201cDon\u2019t believe everything you see on the internet.\u201d If a fake news story is claiming to be real, search for the headline elsewhere. If it\u2019s truly noteworthy, other known and reputable sites will report on the event\u2014and have done their own fact-checking.<\/p>\n The bulk of AI technology still renders fingers and hands poorly. It often creates eyes that might have a soulless or dead look to them, or that show irregularities between them. Also, shadows might appear in places where they look unnatural. Further, the skin tone might look uneven. In deepfaked videos, the voice and facial expressions might not exactly line up, making the subject look robotic and stiff.<\/p>\n The fact is that fake news isn\u2019t going anywhere. It\u2019s a reality of going online. And AI makes it tougher to spot.<\/p>\n At least at first glance. The best tool for spotting fake news is a fact-check. You can do the work yourself, or you can rely on trusted resources that have already done the work.<\/p>\n This takes time, which people don\u2019t always spend because social platforms make it so quick and easy to share. If\u00a0we can point to one reason fake news spreads so quickly<\/a>, that\u2019s it. In fact, social media platforms reward such behavior.<\/p>\n With that, keep an eye on your own habits. We forward news in our social media feeds too, so make sure that what you share is truthful too.<\/p>\nWhat is fake news?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWho\u2019s behind fake news? And why?<\/h2>\n
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Spotting what\u2019s real and fake in your social media feed<\/h2>\n
Consider the source<\/h3>\n
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Check the date<\/h3>\n
Check your emotions too<\/h3>\n
Expand your media diet<\/h3>\n
Let an expert do the fact-checking for you<\/h3>\n
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Three ways to spot AI-generated fakes<\/h2>\n
1) Consider the context<\/h3>\n
2) Evaluate the claim<\/h3>\n
3) Check for distortions<\/h3>\n
Be safe out there<\/h2>\n
Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n