Common sense tips to spot fake news 1 Who made this post? 2 Who do they want to view it? 3 Who benefits from this post and who might be harmed by it? 4 Has any information been left out of this post that might be important? 5 Is a reliable source reporting the same news? If not, it doesn’t mean it’s not true, but it does mean you should dig a little deeper. commonsensemedia.org
The fake news glossary POST-TRUTH Relates to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. FILTER BUBBLE A State of intellectual isolation caused when an individual is separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints. CONFIRMATION BIAS When people would like a certain concept to be true, they are drawn to evidence that supports it. NATIVE ADVERTISEMENT A paid ad that matches the look, feel and function of the site on which it appears.
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Stamford University Research ■■ More than 80% of students surveyed believed a sponsored content article was a real news story. ■■ Only a quarter of students recognised the significance of Twitter’s blue check mark. ■■ 40% of students believed a headline solely because the photograph underneath it seemed to confirm it. Wineburg, Sam and McGrew, Sarah and Breakstone, Joel and Ortega, Teresa. (2016). Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: purl. stanford.edu/fv751yt5934
