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Just finished an online lesson for my students in becoming digital detectives for fake news. I will outline the steps here.....
1. Check the source and whether the author and publishers are credible. What is the author's professional reputation? Can the author's profession be verified? Does he/she have known political affiliations or associations with certain lobby groups? Is the publisher recognised?...
2. Look for clues all around the picture/page/video. Are there signs of photoshopping, unusual watermarks, blurs or acronyms that don't look right/realistic or don't align with the story?....
3. Check another trusted source to verify/confirm the information. True information is usually verifiable from a number of independent, credible sources. Exclusive information that has no verifiable source and no way of confirming it should be treated with caution.....
4. Check the domain name and whether it is a clone. A site like http://abcnews.com may be cloned as http://abcnews.co to camouflage its fake news as from a trusted source....
5. Notice the tone and language of the "news" - does it seem to excessively praise or condemn? Or is it presenting neutral facts? True news does not need to enhance the facts presented with emphatic bias. The reader or viewer is typically left to form his/her own opinion...
6. Do a reverse search for photos to see if they were used for a different story. It is common for fake news to steal photos or videos from elsewhere to complement a story. Here's how to check if a photo can be found elsewhere: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-perform-a-reverse-image-search-in-android-ios/
7. Check recognised fact-checking sites such as http://Snopes.com , http://Factcheck.org and http://Politifact.com for professional verification of trending stories. (End of thread)
