Hey kids! Have you ever heard news that you believed was true, only to later realize that it was a lie? That is called fake news. The first kind of fake news is the kind that is the least harmful. Misleading, exaggerated headlines, commonly called clickbait, are everywhere.These kinds of headlines are the articles that grab your attention while on the internet or watching TV, and keep you glued to the screen to later find out what it is: nothing. Everyone on the internet is almost certain to have seen it. This is what makes these less dangerous. As most people know what they are, it is easier to ignore them. A simple rule is this: If the story seems too unbelievable to be true, is likely is. With this type of fake news also comes the problem of the label “fake news”. The term should be used sparingly, and it is best to keep calling this “clickbait”, as calling it fake news is in itself misleading.
The second kind of fake news, misreporting, can be harmful, but will probably not have a great impact. While in London on a tour, rumors of the death of Mark Twain were spread in the U.S. They eventually reached him, and legend has it that he told a reporter: “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” This happened about 120 years ago, and is nothing new. It has been around for as long as there has been news. Although this misreporting can cause immediate problems, it is quickly fixed. With the advancement of technology and communication, accidents of this kind will become less likely, and those that do happen will be corrected quickly. It is important here to not call this fake news too. Misreporting is a mistake, the result of rumor or unclear or partial information, and should not be called “fake news”.
Now the third kind of fake news, the harmful and dangerous kind. The goals of true fake news can be almost anything,such as influencing elections, as both sides of the 2016 presidential election claimed. This is when the term “fake news” was first widely used to refer to this kind false information, and since then it has gained more media coverage. Fake news can also be called propaganda. Some fake news websites copy the names of real news agencies, such as ABC, CNN, and MSNBC, and end with .co (looks like .com) in an effort to fool people into thinking they are on the real website. Facebook and other social media sites have also been accused of allowing fake news to spread, as it easily spreads between users. Since then, Facebook has announced an effort to fact-check and remove fake news from their site. Other fact-checking websites have also been made. However, this raises questions of freedom of speech and censorship, and the reliability still relies on YOU to check the credibility of news.
There are easy steps to decide if something is credible.
● Who is the author?
● Is this a news site, or something else?
● Always check multiple sources for information.
● Some sources are more credible than others; despite fact-checking, social media should not be your main source of information. University websites (.edu) are often more credible than .com and .net sites, as anyone can own those.