Fake News, or Evaluating News Sources

Practice makes perfect

Use the tips throughout this LibGuide to check your own claim, or use one of the claims listed below for practice.  Remember, fake news articles may fall under multiple categories and might even mix in a few facts amid their falsehoods.

Compare these two links.  Which one do you think is true?  Why or why not?

Tips for fact checking and avoiding fake news

1. When you open up a news article in your browser, open a second, empty tab.  Use that second window to look up claims, author credentials and organizations that you come across in the article.
2. Fake news spans across all kinds of media - printed and online articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, radio shows, even still images. Be prepared to double-check everything.
3. Beware of confirmation bias.  Just because you might agree with what an article is saying doesn't mean it's true.
4. As Mad-Eye Moody said in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, "Constant Vigilance!"  Always be ready to fact check.
5. Even the best researchers will be fooled once in a while.  If you find yourself fooled by a fake news story, use your experience as a learning tool.

More practice

• Food Babe: How Food Companies Exploit Americans

  This article claims that US consumers ingest chemicals that people in other countries don't. Is that true? What else does this article imply?
• Spoon University: Drinking Tequila Could Help You Lose Weight

  Can you find enough evidence to prove or disprove this claim?
• Anonymous: Ten Signs the Global Elite are Losing Control

  Lots of claims here. Pick one or two and check to your heart's content.
• Counter Current News: Marijuana Does Not Lower IQ

  Up for the challenge of proving or disproving this one?