Fake News 101 – It’s Easy

Fake news 101

Don’t believe everything you read………you putz!

By Phred F. Stone

This rant was inspired by several FaceBook friends who post the most ridiculously inaccurate political memes on a regular basis with no shame whatsoever. Hook – line – and sinker. It’s like the concept of fact checking is on the same order as astro-physics and orbital mechanics. HOLY SHIT “Hillary put a hit out on one of Bill’s whores”……REPOST.………..WOW “Nancy Pelosi employs 44 illegals as house servants”……..REPOST. HOLY F-WORD Batman, “Maxine Waters wants to appoint an illegal to the Supreme Court”……….REPOST. It is horrifying to me that people are now getting their news from memes with these captions on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The fact that they even believe some of this Krap is even more astonishing. Memes are the newest and most insidious form of fake news flooding social media. Most of them are factually inaccurate.

Fear not kids, I’ve teamed up with Phred F. Stone to help you knuckleheads employ your own BS/Fake meme/Fake news detector. Unless you are a complete idiot and can’t manage using Google, you should do OK. On the other hand, if you believe and repost some of the memes I’ve seen you guys post, this might be a challenge.

How to identify fake news

1. Be skeptical of headlines. Fake news stories often have catchy headlines with lots of caps and exclamation points. People have incredibly short attention spans (thank Twitter for that) and a headline may be all they can take in. There may be a photo accompanying the story that has nothing to do with it but it sucks you in. If shocking claims in the headline sound unbelievable, they usually are.
2. Memes. Memes are currently the biggest contributor of fake news on social media and also the reigning king of inaccurate headlines. Memes throw fact checking out the window and play purely on your emotions. Anybody with a basic photo editor can make and post a meme in seconds. They get a picture of Donald Trump, or Maxine Waters, or anybody else they don’t like, and scribble some inflammatory text across the top and bottom borders then post it on FaceBook, Twitter, or InstaGram. It’s that simple – BOOM. Fake news delivered. Then some idiot on FaceBook, Twitter, or InstaGram reads it, becomes inflamed and reposts it. It scares me how many people get their world and national news from memes on social media.

1. Look closely at the URL. A URL is that “www.whatever.com” thingy at the top of your browser. A phony or look-alike URL may be a warning sign of fake news. Many fake news sites mimic authentic news sources by making small changes to the URL. You can go to the site to compare the URL to established accurate sources. If the page looks like it’s CNN but the URL says www.cnnyoudummy.com and you believe what is on it, then – www.youarethedummy.com

1. Investigate the source. Ensure that the story is written by a source that you trust with a reputation for accuracy. If the story comes from an unfamiliar organization, check their “About” section to learn more. There are a lot of news satire sites that will tell you that they are in fact a satire site in the “about” section. Satirization is not real news – it’s comedy, usually written by comedians. If you don’t know what satire is – click here.

1. Is the story a joke? Sometimes fake news stories can be hard to distinguish from humor or satire. Check whether the source is known for parody, and whether the story’s details and tone suggest it may be just for fun. If you are getting your news from The Onion, or if you can’t tell that sites like The Onion are satire sites, the world of news reporting may not be for you and you should probably stick with silly animal videos on Youtube. (I love the Onion BTW, but I’m a comedian)

1. Watch for unusual formatting. Many fake news sites have misspellings and poor grammar or awkward layouts. Read carefully and if you see these signs, move on. You may not like CNN or FoxNews, but those people can spell and have a good command of the English language and grammar.

1. Consider the photos. Fake news stories often contain manipulated images and videos. Sometimes the photo may be authentic, but taken out of context or have nothing to do with the story at all. You can do a reverse image search to verify where the photo came from. Google can show you how to do this.

1. Inspect the dates. Fake news stories may contain timelines that make no sense, or event dates that have been altered.

1. Check the evidence. Check the author’s sources to confirm that they are accurate. Lack of evidence or reliance on unnamed experts may indicate a fake news story. Most reputable news sites will reveal their sources. Check the “Fact Checking Sites” below for some fact checking resources.

Look at other reports. If no other news source is reporting the same story, it may indicate that the story is false. If the story is reported by multiple sources you trust, it’s more likely to be true

Fact checking sites

FactCheck.org – Go here for most of your political fact checking. They are nonpartisan and nonprofit. They monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.
Snopes – Snopes is the Cadillac of fact checking sites. Their tentacles spread beyond politics into other areas. If you want to verify a rumor you heard about Eminem or Nancy Pelosi, Snopes is the place.
Politifact – Political fact checking at its best. These guys have won a Pulitzer prize. They are the real deal. No fake news here.
Google – Yeah, Google. Lets say you see a meme on FaceBook that claims Maxine Waters said an illegal should be appointed to the supreme court. (real meme BTW) Go on to Google and search on this “did Maxine Waters say an illegal should be appointed to the supreme court”. It takes a few seconds Brilliant, right?