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Identifying and Evaluating Sources: Fake News

This guide is intended to help you identify types of sources and evaluate those sources for quality and objectivity.

What is Fake News?

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.].

Help! My News is Fake!

Did a family member call to tell you that liberals hate science? Did one of your friends breathlessly tell you that President Donald Trump was going to pardon mass shooter Dylann Roof?  You might have heard these stories, but there's one thread connecting all of them: they're not true.

The ability to tell accurate news from false or misleading content is an important skill that you'll use for the rest of your life.  This information will give you valuable insight in telling fact from fiction online, plus a chance to exercise your newfound skills. 

Why should you care about whether or not your news is accurate?

  1. You deserve the truth.  You are smart enough to make up your own mind - as long as you have the real facts in front of you.  You have every right to be insulted when you read fake news, because you are in essence being treated like you do not know how to distinguish fact from fiction.
  2. Poor information can destroy your credibility.  If your arguments are built on bad information, it will be much more difficult for people to believe you in the future.
  3. Poor information can hurt you, and a lot of other people.  Purveyors of fake and misleading medical advice like Mercola.com and NaturalNews.com help perpetuate myths that have been debunked by reliable sources (see research on AIDS denialism and the lack of connection between vaccines and autism).  These sites are frequently visited and their misinformation is dangerous.
  4. Accurate and timely information can benefit you. If you want to make decisions about your family's health care, you want to find evidence-based recommendations. If you want to buy stock in a company, you want to read accurate articles about that company so you can invest wisely.  If you are planning on voting in an election, you want to read as much accurate information on a candidate so you can vote for the person who best represents your ideas and beliefs.

"What's Wrong with Fake News?" created by K. T. Lowe at Indiana University East Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How False News Can Spread

Source: " How False News Can Spread" Lesson by Noah Tavlin, Animation by Patrick Smith, TEDEd

5 Ways to Spot Fake News