Library Home: Evaluating Sources: Hoaxes, Fakes, &amp; Other Tricks

Think before you re-post. You may be adding to the problem - of sharing misinformation - by sharing it - without checking it out first.

Warning

Be skeptical of everything you see, hear, or read

Satire can include fake news that makes fun of the news.
Some fake news is not satire, however.
Some fake news is intentionally misleading.
Some "real" news is unintentionally misleading.

Problem:
Incorrect or misleading news
slips into the social media stream
and people usually cannot distinguish
the "subjective opinion" news from the "objective factual" news.

Solution:
Always evaluate the author and source.
Be skeptical.
Check sources for accuracy.
Don't forward until you fact-check

How to protect yourself: Fact-Check websites & use multiple sources.

ClaimBuster: Automated Live Fact-checking
Factcheck.org When selecting material to write about, we seek to devote an equal amount of time reviewing claims politicians. We do that by reviewing statements they make in the same venues.
Fact Checker - The Washington Post WP view is that "a fact check is never really finished, so the rating can be revised after we obtain new information that changes the factual basis for our original ruling."
Politifact.com PolitiFact is a nonpartisan fact-checking website to sort out the truth in American politics. It is a project of the Tampa Bay Times, a publishing company based in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Tampa Bay Times is owned by The Poynter Institute, a nonprofit school for journalists.
REUTERS FACT CHECK HEADLINES
Snopes: Fake News Category This badge confirms an organization was deemed compliant with the IFCN principles when subjected to the established vetting process and evaluated by external assessors. Through this process, an organization must exhibit a commitment to nonpartisanship and fairness, transparency of sources, transparency of funding and organization, transparency of methodology, and a commitment to open and honest corrections.
ThatsFake.com ThatsFake.com is run by the same team behind ThatsNonsense.com – which was created back in 2009 and is one of the leading social media hoax/rumour/privacy websites on the Internet today.
ThatsNonsense.com The aim of ThatsNonsense.com is education though unbiased reporting of the facts. When possible, we provide links to reputable sources to back-up the information we post in our articles, or at least provide enough detail so that our work can be replicated by any other fact checker.

Evaluating Sources: Hoaxes, Fakes, & Other Tricks

Think before you re-post. You may be adding to the problem - of sharing misinformation - by sharing it - without checking it out first.

Warning

How to protect yourself: Fact-Check websites & use multiple sources.

Hoaxes, Fakes, & Other Tricks: Wikipedia will give you the latest crow-sourced warnings!

Learn about Logical Tricks & Traps