![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/contentinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/featured-3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn October last year, it had a popularity score of 73 on Google Trends. That means its search popularity dropped only 27 percent in October, compared with its record-high search popularity in January 2018. Fake news is alive and well, and people are still interested in finding out more about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being well-informed is crucial in this era where news travels at the speed of light. In fact, the time it takes for an event to become a news story may actually have contributed to the rise in fake news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just so we\u2019re all on the same page before we begin, when we refer to fake news, we\u2019re not just referencing deliberately made-up stories. Articles which contain factual errors as a consequence of a rush to report can be just as \u2018fake\u2019 \u2013 and damaging \u2013 as intentionally fabricated ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Main types of fake news<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This online definition of fake news is pretty simple: Fake News is information that cannot be verified, is without sources and is possibly untrue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a good place to start, but it\u2019s important to differentiate between misinformation and dis<\/em>information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, misinformation is false or inaccurate information that is mistakenly or inadvertently created or spread; the intent is not to deceive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disinformation, however, is false information that is deliberately created and spread \u201cin order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, with that in mind, let\u2019s look at classifying fake news by type. Ready? Let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main type of fake news stories are the ones which are deliberately made up with the intention to disinform. They are usually found on obscure websites, and they are often about politics and crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the types of stories that remain synonymous with the term \u2018fake news\u2019, and are the kind made famous during the last US Presidential election campaign. The effects of possible fake news on political life rumble on, and an Ohio State University study shows<\/a> that fake news probably played a significant role in depressing Hillary Clinton\u2019s support on Election Day in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But why bother? Typically, the goals are either to make an article go viral and make money from the huge number of clicks or to promote a certain political agenda and even try to mislead supporters of a certain political party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The important thing to note about these types of fake stories is that while some of them are completely made up, others start with a true story, and then a big part of the narrative is warped to suit a certain cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the stories that are just done badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many times have you come across a headline that says one thing \u2013 only to click through and discover there is no trace of it in the story below? Clickbait isn\u2019t just annoying, it\u2019s another kind of fake news, plain and simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not just misleading headlines: fake news may also materialize through sloppy journalistic practice. In the drive to get clicks, some media outlets, such as tabloids, may build stories around an actual fact, even though this \u2018anchoring\u2019 fact can\u2019t support all of the claims made in the article. Unnamed sources pose a similar problem: when they\u2019re the ones driving a powerful story forward, it\u2019s troubling if their credentials remain hidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Putting information into a false context can also fall into this category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve heard of The Onion<\/em><\/a> \u2013 \u2018America\u2019s finest news source\u2019 \u2013 or The Daily Mash<\/a>, then chances are you\u2019re familiar with satirical news. In previous years, we\u2019ve come across many similar websites or social media pages that serve the same purpose: to entertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The stories on these sites are as fake as it gets, but at least they don\u2019t pretend they\u2019re not. The main difference between satirical content and fake news stories is that the former are made up to be fun and mock people\u2019s habits and stereotypes \u2013 and the audience are supposed to be in on the joke. That said, satirical news has been around for almost as long as the news itself \u2013 and people have been mistaking it for the real deal for just as long. Regardless of the intention, the consequences can be just as damaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how do fake stories spread across the online universe? Not many people have obscure websites in their browser\u2019s bookmarks, right? It probably doesn\u2019t come as much of a surprise that the main aggregator of fake news traffic is social media. Where stories have gone viral, they have often done so in the news feeds of social media users. One genius study conducted by scholars at MIT actually proved<\/a> that fake news spreads across Twitter faster than real stories \u2013 and by a substantial margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why is that, you may be asking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFalse news is more novel than true news, and that may be why we share the false much faster and more widely,\u201d writes Paul Chadwick in an article for The Guardian<\/em><\/a>, based on the aforementioned research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProminent responses to false news include surprise, fear and disgust. True news tends to be met with sadness, joy, anticipation, and trust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another insight from the same study showed that humans were more likely to be responsible for the spread of fake news than automated processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, that\u2019s a thing to think about, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re wondering whether it\u2019s possible you have read a fake news story, the answer is \u2013 it\u2019s highly likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first steps to take on the path to spotting fake news is to find out which organization published the story and who the author was. This may sound like News Literacy 101, but it\u2019s surprisingly easy to get deceived because fake news websites often use names which are very similar to famous and trusted news outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Probably the best example of this was a website called ABCnews.com.co, which was obviously made to resemble ABC news<\/a>. Even the logo on that fake website was similar to the real logo used by the ABC news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ABCnews.com.co may seem legit, but typing ABC news into a search engine will show you that the address of the real ABC news is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the story is published on the website of a news organization you\u2019ve never heard of, alarm bells should start ringing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have never heard of it, or it\u2019s not ranked highly when you type its name into a search engine, it\u2019s likely the story is not true. What you can do is visit some of the big and trusted media sites, because \u2013 if the story is legit \u2013 it\u2019s likely they will be reporting on it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if that weren\u2019t tricky enough, sometimes a big story will break, but lots of false ones will rise along behind it. Here, it is necessary to unpick the truths and lies even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A great example of this was the Roy Moore case, as reported by The Washington Post.<\/a> Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was accused by a woman of attempted sexual contact with minors. As the story unfolded, fake news websites weighed in, reporting that WP<\/em> reporters called people and offered money for dirty information on Moore, in an attempt to throw shade on the case and discredit the Post<\/em>\u2019s reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It didn\u2019t stop there: another fake news website reported<\/a> that the woman who\u2019d accused Moore has been arrested for lying, which was also not true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This raises a question: when we have an important story developing in front of us, how can we distinguish which pieces about it are true, and which are not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, that requires a little bit more work, but it\u2019s fairly easy to separate real information from lies. One way to be sure is to revisit the media that published the story in the first place. Is there a follow-up article? It\u2019s rare for credible outlets to report a standalone story without subsequent articles providing updates, so if there aren\u2019t any those alarm bells should be ringing again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the case of the fake article about the reporter bribing contacts, The Post<\/em> reported on it in an attempt to discredit the fakery and show readers their commitment to transparency and due process. That\u2019s a good sign too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While we\u2019re talking about name recognition, check whether the news organization has an \u2018about us\u2019 section, where you can find more information. Even though you may have not heard of a small investigative outlet, it doesn\u2019t mean their work isn\u2019t legit (and it may just broaden your reading list!). Fake news outlets usually don\u2019t have an \u2018about us\u2019 section, but satirical sites will often give an inkling of their remit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, an easy way to spot a fake news outlet is the way their website is designed. Many of them are graphically simple when compared with big online news outlets. Others my seem unprofessional in terms of design, and you\u2019ll be able to see their creators didn\u2019t pay a lot of attention to the website design. The same thing applies to the website logo, which is usually simple and crudely designed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this, we don\u2019t mean the organization reporting the news, but rather the source of a story for you, the reader. Where did you see it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often, the answer is in your social media feed. It may be a link leading to the story, but it could also be a tweet that\u2019s spreading the disinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A case study published by The New York Times<\/a> shows us just how fast a fake news tweet went viral on Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just to get a sense of what happened, around election day in 2016, a man in Austin tweeted a photograph of a row of buses in the city. Noting that this was unusual \u2013 and having read something about anti-Trump protests that were occurring in the city on the same day \u2013 he put two and two together, made five and tweeted his conclusion. The resultant tweet suggested that this protest was not a naturally occurring event, but the result of a more dubious plot and the tweet went viral, garnering 16,000 shares. It also appeared on Facebook, and was shared a staggering 350,000 times. Those buses, it transpired, had been in the city for the much less sinister reason of transporting delegates to a conference that was being held in Austin, and, although the Twitterstorm was not intended as a deliberate hoax, it had an inflammatory result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The moral of the story? Check the person who posted the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A tweet that goes viral, despite the original poster having only a handful of questionable followers, is suspicious. Just looking at the size \u2013 and quality \u2013 of someone\u2019s audience can be a sign towards seeing whether they\u2019re actually putting out genuine content. A look at their followers and who they\u2019re following, as well as their posting history, can give you some clue as to whether they have an agenda that\u2019s supported by the story they\u2019re sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many journalists today, especially on Twitter, have verified accounts (that small check mark near their name). This tells you it\u2019s a real person and not a \u2018bot\u2019 that could be generating fake news, or someone posting in someone else\u2019s name in an attempt to amuse, deceive or distract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to news outlets, only follow their verified pages on social media. That way, you can avoid ending up on websites such as \u2018ABCnews.com.co\u2019 or \u2018breaking-cnn.com\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Identifying whether something is fake or real isn\u2019t always tricky. One of the easiest ways to check the authenticity of a piece is through the sources it cites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where does the main information come from? Who is providing it? If the main source is a person, are they identified? Or is the story based on a document?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, the use of an anonymous source is necessary. Ask yourself whether the information the source is sharing is sensitive enough to justify their name being withheld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Misuse of anonymous sources can indicate that a story is indeed fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the source is a person who is named or a document that\u2019s cited, it\u2019s still worth doing some fact checking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you suspect a quote is fake, Google it to see if it appears on any other websites and, if so, which ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Journalists frequently use public documents as a source for stories. You can just Google them and see whether they\u2019re telling the same story as the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing you can do to avoid fake news is to check when the story was reported and at what time, and how often the outlet publishes in general. You can scroll the site to see when the first stories were published, and, if it\u2019s within a few weeks or months, this could indicate the site\u2019s been set up for a certain purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can also be telling to take a closer look at how often the site covers a specific type of story \u2013 for example, a news outlet which has only reported on politics a few times is highly unlikely to break a huge political scandal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing you can check is who its authors are. If a lot of the stories are written by an editorial team or are just taken from news agencies with very little content produced by actual authors, that could mean it\u2019s fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, why is it important to properly understand what we\u2019re reading and the way we\u2019re being informed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first thing is, of course, that being well-informed and knowing the truth is useful. But the fact is that fake news affects our lives \u2013 and not in a good way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve even come up with a term for times we live in. It\u2019s called the \u2018post-truth era\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cries of \u2018fake news!\u2019 punctuating the 2016 US elections and questionable claims made by the \u2018Leave\u2019 campaign in the UK\u2019s Brexit referendum are just two of the more high-profile examples of misinformation having a dramatic impact on broader political issues. At the opposite end of the scale, the blurring line between real and fake news has allowed the likes of Trump to claim reports by credible news outlets, such as CNN, are fake \u2013 a move that has worked to chip away at supporters\u2019 trust in the mainstream media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not all about politics, from health reports to science, fake news is infiltrating many aspects of reporting. Take this, for example, fake news actually made people think stress caused cancer.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why is all this happening?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because we don\u2019t pay enough attention to the news we consume. The truth is, many of us don\u2019t even remember what news outlets we are following. A survey<\/a> by The Pew Research Center showed that almost half of the people who read the news online each week couldn\u2019t remember which sites they got their news from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What raises more concerns it that as many as 10 percent of people named \u2018Facebook\u2019 as the \u2018news outlet\u2019 from which the pieces they read came from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This sends us back to the question of who is the main aggregator of traffic for fake news. It\u2019s social media \u2013 remember?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The real key to being better-informed lies with news literacy. You don\u2019t have to know all of the fake news websites, but you can follow some of our tips and quickly find out whether something is true or false. (You can find more on news literacy here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some organizations that are on a mission to debunk fake news. Even though their numbers are growing, they can\u2019t check all of the news out there, but they do usually analyze big stories. Politico\u2019s<\/em><\/a> \u2018Is this true?\u2019 section is one of my favorite, but I would also recommend Poynter\u2019s<\/em><\/a> fact-checking section for finding out how people around the world fight fake news, as well as a website called Factcheck<\/em><\/a>, where you can find plenty of fake stories dismantled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n by <\/em><\/strong>Milos Stanic<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nMade up stories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/contentinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Making-up-stories.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSloppy journalism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Satire and parody<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/contentinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Satire-and-parody.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow do they spread?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to spot a fake story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/contentinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/how-to-spot-a-fake-story.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The kind of sensationalism attached to fake stories often makes them very visible online, so exactly how should people distinguish between the real and the fake when the line is often blurred?<\/p>\n\n\n\nWho published the story?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The design<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/contentinsights.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/The-design.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhere has the news come from?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Who\u2019s the source?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How often do they report?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why should we be able to spot fake news?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n