Fake news in the media

Fake news in the media

Fake news is unfortunately a big part of today's media and a big nuisance to how people assimilate news and information. It makes people more skeptical towards every thing they see on the internet and on social medias.

The two videos we watched about how to avoid believing fake news and to differentiate it from real news. The first one is from the FRANCE 24 English channel on Youtube, it gives us 4 tips to spot fake news. We learn that we can use online tools such as TinEye to reverse image search and InVid to know where a picture or video was posted before. They also tell us to look for clues that the picture could have been modified or put out of context. We also learn to use keywords to research a video or picture online to learn more about it. It also advises us to always read the comments on social medias when we see something we are not sure about.

The second video comes from John Spencer’s Youtube channel. He tells us that fake news is easier to diffuse than ever on social medias and that according to a Stanford study only 25% of students can differentiate fake news from real one. John teaches a 5 step technique to his students to spot fake news on social medias and the internet.

1. You have to look at the context of the article or news, when it was written, where it comes from, is there any new information…

2. You need to check the credibility of the source, the reputation of the site and its journalistic integrity, if the author sites credible sources or even if it is satirical.

3. Analyze the construction of the article, search for the bias and any loaded words, omission, propaganda techniques or if it is merely a bunch of speculation.

4.You can corroborate the information with other credible news sources, make sure other media channels and sites have the same claim to prove the veracity of the claim.

5. Compare the information to other news sources to get different perspectives and points of view, find other credible sources from other areas of the ideological or political spectrum to get a bigger picture of what’s actually going on.

John Spencer teaches his students to consume and think critically, and critical thinking citizens are good for democracy.

...