the real scoop on fake news

THE REAL SCOOP ON FAKE NEWS

KT LoweIndiana University Eastlowekat@iu.edu

What is Fake News?

Nothing new.

Image: “God’s Revenge Againgst Murder”, May 18, 1833. Source: http://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/view/4787805?width=1612&height=2400&html=y

Some things never change Why do people write fake news stories?

Cash! (As in sweet, sweet advertising pennies)

Propaganda (either for or against a particular nation, politician or cause)

But mostly cash.

Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/outrageous-vintage-cigarette-ads/3/

Today’s fake news

Melissa Zimdars, Assistant Professor, Merrimack College Four categories of fake news

Category 1: Entirely fake Category 2: A mix of fake and real Category 3: Clickbait-y but may contain some fact Category 4: Satire

Since then, she’s expanded her work, with a table of sites and an explanation of their classifications.

What makes fake news fake?

You can’t verify it You don’t know who wrote it

Or the author has no credentials It makes you mad! Or scared!

Or really happy! It comes from a fake site

Sites that end in .lo are pretty much universally fake

Watch for spoof sites that are intended to look like real news sites, like abcnews.com.co.

Image and fake news story by KT Lowe. Dinosaur picture from Pixabay.com

Why do we care?

We’re being played for fools! Fake news ruins our

credibility, even as it marks us as members of a group

Fake news can hurt you, and a lot of other people Pizzagate Food Babe, Dr. Oz and the rest

Image and story source: KT Lowe. The story’s fake, but the cat is real.

How to check for fake news

Fresh or stale? Author or not? What’s the domain? Sources? How do you feel?

What makes real news real?

Source? Author? Verifiable? Date?

But one more thing that isn’t mentioned much…

Journalistic ethics

How do we know we can trust the real news sources? Look for a code of ethics, which should be publicly available online.

Journalists also adhere to a code of professional conduct.

New York Times Standards and Ethics

NPR Ethics Handbook Tons of other ethics codes an

d codes of conduct, from the American Society of News Editors

Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics

Let’s test some news!

Open one of the stories listed on the right in a browser

Second, open another tab as a Google window. Use that as a workspace for checking

What to check: Authorship Domain name Any and all claims made in the

content of the article Date and location (where appropriate)

Eat This Not That: Shocking Facts About Farmed Salmon

Best Health: Is Chocolate Healthy?

Counter Current News: Water Defender Gunned Down

What does fake news look like?

So what do we do?

Know there’s a lot of sites that have our backs

Empower our patrons Encourage, then instruct

Practice good media hygiene ourselves Remember that fake news comes in

lots of media, and that even the most reliable sources will screw up sometimes

Constant Vigilance!

Image source: Pottermore

Questions?

Stay in touch with me: The IU East Fake News

LibGuide If questions come to mind

later, you can reach me at lowekat@iu.edu