Evaluating Information Sources

What is Fake News?

There are four broad categories of fake news, according to media professor Melissa Zimdars of Merrimack College.

CATEGORY 1: Fake, false, or regularly misleading websites that are shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits.

CATEGORY 2: Websites that may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information

CATEGORY 3: Websites which sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions

CATEGORY 4: Satire/comedy sites, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news

No single topic falls under a single category - for example, false or misleading medical news may be entirely fabricated (Category 1), may intentionally misinterpret facts or misrepresent data (Category 2), may be accurate or partially accurate but use an alarmist title to get your attention (Category 3) or may be a critique on modern medical practice (Category 4.)  Some articles fall under more than one category.  Assessing the quality of the content is crucial to understanding whether what you are viewing is true or not.   It is up to you to do the legwork to make sure your information is good.

Professor Zimdar's Google Doc includes a list of identified sources of fake, misleading news and satire

Quick Exercise:  Compare these two links.  Which one do you think is true?  Why or why not? 1 - Eat This Not That: Shocking Facts About Farmed Salmon 2 - Washington State Department of Health: Farmed vs. Wild Salmon Fact Checking Links LinkedIn A professional networking website where you can look up the authors of articles and books to see if they're credible. FactCheck A product of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, this site is terrific for checking up on political claims. Politifact The Pulitzer Prize-winning Politifact researches the claims of politicians and checks their accuracy. Snopes.com One of the oldest debunking sites on the Internet, Snopes.com focuses on urban legends, news stories and memes. the also cite their sources at the end of each debunking. The Washington Post Fact-Checker   While focused primarily on political facts, it covers specific claims in-depth and with plenty of cross-referencing.

Additional information on Fake News: Fake News - from Rider University; Fake News - from Fordham University