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Want to keep fake news out of your newsfeed?

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
So how do you determine what's fake news from real news?

A college professor compiling a list?
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
New So how do you determine what's fake news from real news?
It's actually not that hard. Advertising methods and choice of words in the articles are two great ways of filtering the good from the bad, and will easily eliminate most junk "news" sites.
 

fantome profane

Anti-Woke = Anti-Justice
Premium Member
So how do you determine what's fake news from real news?

A college professor compiling a list?
If you scroll down under the list you will see the professor has added some ideas "Tips for analysing news sources"

Tips for analyzing news sources:


  • Avoid websites that end in “lo” ex: Newslo (above). These sites take pieces of accurate information and then packaging that information with other false or misleading “facts” (sometimes for the purposes of satire or comedy).

  • Watch out for websites that end in “.com.co” as they are often fake versions of real news sources.

  • Watch out if known/reputable news sites are not also reporting on the story. Sometimes lack of coverage is the result of corporate media bias and other factors, but there should typically be more than one source reporting on a topic or event.

  • Odd domain names generally equal odd and rarely truthful news.

  • Lack of author attribution may, but not always, signify that the news story is suspect and requires verification.

  • Some news organizations are also letting bloggers post under the banner of particular news brands; however, many of these posts do not go through the same editing process (ex: BuzzFeed Community Posts, Kinja blogs, Forbes blogs).

  • Check the “About Us” tab on websites or look up the website on Snopes or Wikipedia for more information about the source.

  • Bad web design and use of ALL CAPS can also be a sign that the source you’re looking at should be verified and/or read in conjunction with other sources.

  • If the story makes you REALLY ANGRY it’s probably a good idea to keep reading about the topic via other sources to make sure the story you read wasn’t purposefully trying to make you angry (with potentially misleading or false information) in order to generate shares and ad revenue.

  • It’s always best to read multiple sources of information to get a variety of viewpoints and media frames. Some sources not yet included in this list (although their practices at times may qualify them for addition), such as The Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, and Fox News, vacillate between providing important, legitimate, problematic, and/or hyperbolic news coverage, requiring readers and viewers to verify and contextualize information with other sources.


Do you have any other ideas about to determine real from fake news?
 

buddhist

Well-Known Member
So how do you determine what's fake news from real news?

A college professor compiling a list?
Or, what makes that "professor" authoritative?

How about we create a list of entertainment-propaganda outlets ... like CNN, MSNBC, ABC, FOX?
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Or, what makes that "professor" authoritative?
She gives her credentials, explains what it is, and she also gives a list of updates. She also listed she is working with librians, most likely Information Literacy, and teaching students how to gather and evaluate information is a major part of their job.
 

buddhist

Well-Known Member
She gives her credentials, explains what it is, and she also gives a list of updates. She also listed she is working with librians, most likely Information Literacy, and teaching students how to gather and evaluate information is a major part of their job.
That's nice. How does that prove that her personal opinions and biases did not contribute to her choices?
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
That's nice. How does that prove that her personal opinions and biases did not contribute to her choices?
If you read the link that takes you directly to her page, she says it is her opinion. However, the fact she is working with other people on this project, especially with those other people having the job of evaluating information, the risk of bias goes down.
And, do realize that list contains both Conservative and Liberal-biased sources. She also emphasises that those sources on her list are not necessarily wrong, but they may be presenting the information in a misleading way. She also states she personally uses some of the sites on that list in gathering and evaluating news stories.
So, really, your questions are answered if you read through the page.
 

buddhist

Well-Known Member
If you read the link that takes you directly to her page, she says it is her opinion. However, the fact she is working with other people on this project, especially with those other people having the job of evaluating information, the risk of bias goes down.
And, do realize that list contains both Conservative and Liberal-biased sources. She also emphasises that those sources on her list are not necessarily wrong, but they may be presenting the information in a misleading way. She also states she personally uses some of the sites on that list in gathering and evaluating news stories.
So, really, your questions are answered if you read through the page.
Yes, thank you that answers my question - it is her opinion.
 

jonathan180iq

Well-Known Member
That's nice. How does that prove that her personal opinions and biases did not contribute to her choices?
Come up with a metric for determining accuracy and test it.
She's presented her credentials and reasonings. You're welcome to give substantial rebuttals if you see the need for any.
 

buddhist

Well-Known Member
Come up with a metric for determining accuracy and test it.
She's presented her credentials and reasonings. You're welcome to give substantial rebuttals if you see the need for any.
It's impossible. Which is why I say it cannot be authoritative unless one believes it to be so.
 

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
If someone doesn't have the tools to fairly easily identify fake (or especially satirical) news sites on their own, then I don't know how much difference it makes what they read or hear, in regards to being more informed in a meaningful way.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Yes, thank you that answers my question - it is her opinion.
You apparently missed when I said there are other people, asides from her, who are also working to build this database. However, that doesn't inherently make her wrong, nor does it mean she isn't giving sound advice, because when you actually take time to read what she wrote she gives very accurate and sound advice.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
If someone doesn't have the tools to fairly easily identify fake (or especially satirical) news sites on their own, then I don't know how much difference it makes what they read or hear, in regards to being more informed in a meaningful way.
She said it is a tool to help her students learn how to spot such things. It's not some "what difference does it make?" because it is assisting students to learn how to spot fake and heavily biased sources, which is, no doubt, probably why she included not just a list of sites but different tips to give students a guide to know what they are looking for.
 

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
She said it is a tool to help her students learn how to spot such things. It's not some "what difference does it make?" because it is assisting students to learn how to spot fake and heavily biased sources, which is, no doubt, probably why she included not just a list of sites but different tips to give students a guide to know what they are looking for.

Ah, if it's primarily for kids, then I can the usefulness.
 
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