FAKE NEWS: How to Read Through the Lines Lies: What is fake news? Why is it created?? How to know fake from real???

Natalie Wahl Instruction Librarian Leeward Community College [email protected]

What is Fake News? Fake news is any information (article, claim) that is untrue. Often created to resemble legitimate information.

Why is Fake News Created? ○ Entertainment ○ Persuasion ○ Financial gain

We Have to Talk About It... Politics.

Most trusted: ● BBC, NPR, PBS, Wall Street Journal, Google News

Least trusted: ● Buzzfeed Source: Pew Research Center

Examples: Entertainment

Example: Persuasion

Examples: Financial Gain ● ● ● ● ●

Who: Cameron Harris, 23 What: Fake news story When: October 3, 2016 Where: christiantimesnewspaper.com Why: To mislead Trump supporters ○ Purpose: Financial gain ● Cause: Election investigation Source: New York Times

Examples: Financial Gain ● ● ● ●

Who: Jestin Coler (liberal), Disinfomedia What: Fake news sites (many!) When: November 5, 2016 Where: Shared via Facebook over 500,000 times ● Why: “To highlight the extremism of the white nationalist alt-right” ○ Purpose: Financial gain ● Cause: Fake news “empire” Source: NPR

Who to Trust? ● Experts in the field ● Sources that cite/link to data, like surveys and studies ● Information and sources that address many viewpoints

What to Avoid ● Inflammatory language ● Claims with no means of verification ● “News” that confirms your own bias

What to do? ● Quick fix ● Learn to evaluate

Quick Fixes ● ● ● ● ● ●

Snopes or PolitiFact verification websites Google & Facebook’s CrossCheck Australia’s ClaimBuster Wikipedia’s Wikidata Chrome’s extension that flag’s fake news Melissa Zimdars’ list of “False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical ‘News’ Sources” ● DoubleVerify ad blocker (or something?)

Or...

Learn How to Evaluate Info: CRAAP Test ● ● ● ● ●

Currency - when was this written? Relevance - do you understand this info source? Authority - who wrote this? Accuracy - are claims verified with data? Links? Purpose - why are they writing this?

Let’s CRAAP Test a News Story Together!

● ● ● ● ●

Currency Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose

Source: Daily Buzz Live

● Currency: No date, but references “Next Month” and Feb. 16th ● Relevance: Intended for adults, can understand ● Authority: No author, but site is flagged by many other sites as a fake news source ● Accuracy: Googled and found this asteroid passed Earth, was 30+ million miles away ● Purpose: Persuasive (scary!) language, misleading and unverified info Pass? Hard no.

Resources A Finder’s Guide to Facts: http://www.npr.org/2016/12/11/505154631/a-finders-guide-to-facts From Headline to Photograph: A Fake News Masterpiece: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/us/fake-news-hillary-clinton-cameron-harris.html?emc=eta1&_r=0 Many Americans Believe Fake News is Sowing Confusion: http://www.journalism.org/2016/12/15/many-americans-believe-fake-news-is-sowing-confusion/ The Modern News Consumer: http://www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/the-modern-news-consumer/ Political Polarization and Media Habits: http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits/ We Tracked Down a Fake News Creator in the Suburbs: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/23/503146770/npr-finds-the-head-of-a-covert-fake-news-o peration-in-the-suburbs