{"id":30032,"date":"2017-02-03T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T12:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs2.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/?p=30032"},"modified":"2017-01-27T11:40:36","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T17:40:36","slug":"fake-news-what-it-is-and-how-to-evaluate-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.davenportlibrary.com\/reference\/fake-news-what-it-is-and-how-to-evaluate-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake News – What It Is and How to Evaluate It"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>There is a lot of talk in the U.S. and around the world\u00a0right now about fake news. What, exactly, is fake news? Generally, fake news\u00a0is\u00a0information that is wholly or partially made up, but\u00a0designed to look like an authentic news report and to attract lots of attention – often resulting in advertising revenue. It often appeals to the strong emotions of its targeted audience.<\/p>\n

Oxford Dictionary<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>acknowledged its influence by\u00a0announcing\u00a0the\u00a02016 word of the year:\u00a0post-truth<\/strong>, <\/em>an adjective, defined as\u00a0“relating to or denoting circumstances in which\u00a0objective\u00a0facts are less influential in shaping public opinion\u00a0than appeals to emotion and personal belief.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

I think we should all exercise caution especially when dealing with those stories that do cause an emotional reaction. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is fake news (just because you don’t like the message doesn’t mean it is fake news) but it\u00a0can be a red flag\u00a0that the story merits double-checking with additional sources. Seek\u00a0those not related to the first source where you encountered it.<\/p>\n

Here are\u00a0some websites\u00a0that you can use to evaluate news sources:<\/p>\n

The Media Bias\/Fact Check news website<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>has a search bar on its main page where you can type in the name of a news source and retrieve a scale that attempts to qualify how far to the left or right that news source typically leans. They maintain a list of questionable sources<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0The website\u00a0also has a list of what is generally accepted to be the least biased news sources, which you can find here<\/a><\/strong>. MBFC explains their methodology and acknowledges that no evaluation is 100% without bias. Check out the list<\/a> <\/strong>– you may\u00a0learn about a new source\u00a0that you will\u00a0want to\u00a0make a habit of\u00a0checking on a regular basis. I’ll admit the ads are bothersome, but it is how they pay to keep the site running.<\/p>\n

FactCheck.org<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is one source you can use to double-check information. Facebook recently announced that it is partnering with this source to help identify and flag fake news circulated on its platform. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center<\/a><\/strong> of the University of Pennsylvania. According to their website, their mission is “to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics…Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.”\u00a0This site\u00a0is primarily focused on\u00a0U.S. politics. During election years, they will report on the accuracy of what is aired on political\u00a0TV ads and in debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.<\/p>\n

Another source to verify political information is Politifact.com<\/a><\/strong>, self-described as “an independent, nonpartisan news organization… not beholden to any government, political party or corporate interest.” They have a long history, which you can read about here<\/a><\/strong>. The system of evaluation they use is called the Truth-o-meter, which ranges from “Truth” on one end to “Pants on Fire” on the other. They have a newsletter to which you can subscribe if you wish to\u00a0receive information updates on the latest fact-checks. They are also partnering with Facebook to help\u00a0flag fake news when it is shared.<\/p>\n

For information that covers a broader array than politics, Snopes.com<\/a><\/strong> can be helpful. I like\u00a0the search option at the top of the page\u00a0where you can easily type in any keywords and retrieve information on rumors and urban legends. It began in 1995 and has become a well-known online source for debunking falsehoods or verifying facts with evidence.<\/p>\n

As an information professional, I encourage people to take\u00a0some time to verify information sources before accepting\u00a0them as completely true. When presented with information in any form, take care to ask yourself these questions:<\/p>\n

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