How to spot lies, fake news and propaganda on Facebook
The Pope has endorsed Donald Trump for president.A Washington, DC, pizzeria is a front for a child sex abuse ring. George Soros will "bring down'' the US by funding "black hate groups.'' These are just some examples of viral stories circulated on social media recently that are completely untrue. Facebook on Thursday announced some steps it's taking to stop the spread of such "fake news'' on its huge social network.
This includes working with outside fact-checking organizations and drying up financial incentives to what it calls the "worst of the worst'' spammers that traffic in made-up stories. But there are basic things news readers can do themselves to spot fake news. And if you want, you can report them to Facebook, which can flag stories for fact-checkers to evaluate.
Check the source
Some hoax sites, designed to draw you in for advertising revenue, feature designs that resemble legitimate, well-known websites. Such "spoofing'' can be quite effective _ but there are often telltale signs to indicate their true nature.
For example, you should be vary of articles on sites whose addresses, or URLs, that end in ``com.co,'' writes Melissa Zimdars, a communications professor at Merrimack College whose own list of "fake news'' sites went viral. (She has since taken it down and published a more general guide .) You can also check the website's "about'' page, its list of contacts, and other stories and photos on it. Poke around a little; if things look less-than-official, you're probably on a spoof site.
This includes working with outside fact-checking organizations and drying up financial incentives to what it calls the "worst of the worst'' spammers that traffic in made-up stories. But there are basic things news readers can do themselves to spot fake news. And if you want, you can report them to Facebook, which can flag stories for fact-checkers to evaluate.
Check the source
Some hoax sites, designed to draw you in for advertising revenue, feature designs that resemble legitimate, well-known websites. Such "spoofing'' can be quite effective _ but there are often telltale signs to indicate their true nature.
For example, you should be vary of articles on sites whose addresses, or URLs, that end in ``com.co,'' writes Melissa Zimdars, a communications professor at Merrimack College whose own list of "fake news'' sites went viral. (She has since taken it down and published a more general guide .) You can also check the website's "about'' page, its list of contacts, and other stories and photos on it. Poke around a little; if things look less-than-official, you're probably on a spoof site.
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