Through the Rose Scholars Program, I was able to attend a very informative table talk on fake news. Fake news is the spreading of false information through common news outlets and broadcasting stations. Fake news is common in today’s society and became very apparent in this past presidential election; it is all around us. Sometimes fake news is extremely apparent and other times it is hard to decipher and can spread quickly through social media sources such as Twitter and Facebook. In order to avoid reading and spreading fake news, follow the following steps: consider the is the article reliable, read more about the information discussed in the article, pay attention to the text itself (look for satire and ridiculous comments), is the author reliable, is the support for the news claim legitimate or fake, check the date of the article, and last but not least, double-check your own bias and make sure it is not overly-influencing you. Outlined above is a list of steps that can help individuals avoid believing fake news. Though time consuming, it is better to be informed about what is truly going on in the world. As fake news can potentially harm individuals and miss-inform the general public.
So true! These steps are helpful and I think it is important for people to be aware about what they are consuming.
I agree that the steps you’ve outlined are a good way to become more aware of the potential that news received from social media could be fraudulent. Fake news really is a big problem, especially as more and more people are relying on social media to get information in the digital age. It is troublesome that some people are so susceptible and just accept articles for what they are and buy into any information they receive.