How to Spot Fake News

Consider how you found the news story. Did it show up on your social media newsfeed, or on a site known for “clickbait,” which refers to a title that has been exaggerated with the purpose of catching the reader or viewer’s attention? If you answered “yes”,  it may be fake news.

On the other hand, if it’s from another news site, check the domain name of the site you’re reading. Often, unusual domains such as “.com.co” are fake news. You can also check who has written the news story and their credentials. It could be a red flag if the source of the news is not clear.

Notice the date of the story. It may not be up-to-date and may not be as relevant to current events. Sometimes, social media and news outlets might also take older news stories and take them out of context. Often social media sites may put outdated sponsored stories on your newsfeed.

Why was this story written? Was it used to promote one of a news outlet’s sponsors? (Tip: You can usually figure out who the sponsors are based off of what advertisements are on the page.) Was it the writer’s opinion? It could also be biased and misleading, trying to push a certain political view or be leaning towards a certain political party.

If the news story seems as though it was written with some sort of bias or opinion attached to it, it may not be a trustworthy news source.

If you see something on your timeline, you can copy and paste the headline into a Google News search to see other outlets are running the story as well. The more news outlets report the same story, the more reliable it may be. You can also do further detective work by cross-referencing the different stories and see if they line up.

Sites like factscan.ca, International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), PolitiFact.com, Hoax Slayer, or Snopes.com all check whether or not a story is real or fake. Not only can you tell whether a story is true or not, but these sites often do the research for you so you’re able to find out the whole story. Check out the MediaSmarts video below to learn the four steps to distinguish whether a post or a story is true or not true.

Sometimes, news stories might be too unusual or out-of-this world then it may be satire. If you think it might be too “out there” it might be worth a double check. You might also want to double check that your own beliefs aren’t clouding your judgement. Although you might really like something to be true, it’s good to double check that it really is.