A
s the term suggests, fake news are deliberately invented stories designed to make people believe something false, buy a certain product, or visit a certain website riddled with advertisements that suck out your mobile data.
1) Check The Source If you come across a story from a source that you’ve never heard of before, do some digging! Find out a bit more about the publisher—is it a professional and well-known news agency or is it someone’s personal blog?
They are stories that may contain some truth, but aren’t 100 percent accurate. Fake news is nothing new. But what is new is how easy it’s become to share information—both true and false—on a massive scale.
Tip: Trusted online sources like Snopes can help you to verify stories that sound too good to be true.
Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn allow almost anyone to publish their thoughts or share stories to the world. The problem is that most people don’t check the source of the material they view online before they share it. This can lead to fake news spreading quickly or even “going viral.” At the same time, it’s become harder to identify the source of news stories, particularly on the internet. This can make it difficult to assess their accuracy. So how do we deal with fake news?
14
Communi-K vol. 15 no. 1
2) Examine the Headlines If the title or headline seems to offer oneshot answers or solutions to a particular question/problem, it’s most likely a clickbait. Clickbaits are written in a way that sufficiently intrigues readers, which leads them to “click” the article. As you read on, you will be mortified at the lack of substance and relevant information. Clickbaits are made for a variety of purposes, normally to generate website traffic—but mostly to feed you with loads of advertisements that translate to revenue for the site. Tip: Avoid headlines like “These skincare secrets used by celebrities will shock you!”, “You won’t believe what happens next when this 15-year-old girl rocks the stage.”, “I tried this herbal slimming capsule for two days and the results were amazing!” No, they’re not really shocking or anything special.
