Some publications are born to spread fake or false (it’s the preferred term these days) news, while others are reputable but can make an honest mistake! Since most of them can fall prey to fake media, it is of the utmost importance to find reliable sources. What to do to locate them?
- Do some “fact-checking at home”, as explained. Particularly if you’re reading
about something outrageous on a social network, open another tab or page in your browser and google the title for the news item you’re reading. If you find the exact same title all over, or on websites with suspicious names, chances are higher that you’re reading a fake news. - Make sure that the news is confirmed by reputable fact-checkers like Snopes.com (or another of your choice)
- What we mean by “suspicious names”? We refer to all of those sites that look like reputable magazines or newspapers but are really only using names that remind you of one. They have a similar layout, or a logo to actual existing sites and will confuse you into thinking they are one. To confirm that they are fake, look them up on such resources as Wikipedia: you won’t find them!
