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FAKE NEWS & How To Avoid It

Or: Hate Fake News? You’ll Probably Share It Anyway

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Study Says:

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WHY do people only Read Headlines?*

  1. Shortened Attention Spans
  2. Information Overload
    1. Easier to assume a headline is true rather than read for context
  3. The Internet has Altered Our Brains
    • Human brains can’t keep up with the amount of information. We’re adapting to a strategy of short bursts of focus before moving onto the next thing.
  4. Confirmation Bias (next slide)
    • People who share headlines based on confirmation bias are less likely to change their minds when presented with accurate information
  5. Headline writers are taught to sensationalize to get attention (Clicks + Shares = Revenue)

*Conscious Vibe

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Ideology and Confirmation Bias

Study Reveals:

“It’s a positive sign that people are trying to fact-check stories themselves, though it’s a question whether they’re any good at it.

  • Respondents thought little of their peers’ ability to find bad information, but believe that they are good at it.

​

One of the biggest risks is that audiences can pick and choose news outlets that agree with them

  • Leads to Confirmation Bias

Graham, David A. “Some Real News about Fake News.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 12 June 2019, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/fake-news-republicans-democrats/591211/.

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Sensationalizing Headlines

Build a Strong Game Plan for Combating Fake News - 11.1%

Fake News and How to Avoid It - 28.6%

Stop Being a Victim of Fake News - 42.9%

How our Brains are being hardwired to accept Fake News - 50%

Hate This Headline? You’ll Probably Share It Anyway - 62.5%

Hate Fake News? You’ll Probably Share it Anyway - 87.5%

https://aminstitute.com/headline/ - Use Emotional Marketing Value to create “Click Bait / Share Bait” Headlines

To put that in perspective, the English language contains approximately 20% EMV words. For comparison, most professional copywriters' headlines will typically have 30%-40% EMV Words in their headlines.

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There’s a Difference Between FAKE and BIASED

According to Erik Palmer: “critically analyzing what politicians say is fundamental to democracy. Pointing out a factual error is not out of bounds. Noticing that language has been misused is not foisting a political view on anyone.”

  • This does not make an article, or source, FAKE; it may mean it is biased. Reporting on stories you don’t like, or not reporting on stories you do like, does not make something FAKE NEWS

Fake: not genuine; counterfeit; made up; bogus

Biased: predisposed to make judgments in favor of or against someone or something because of emotional commitment rather than rational consideration.

Definitions taken from New Oxford American Dictionary

Image source: FOKUSIERT/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

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Photo credit: Jorge Franganillo Olivetti Studio 46 Taken on April 16, 2021 Some rights reserved

Tips on following slides come from: H2I How to Inform https://h2i.info/

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01

ANNOUNCEMENTS

You can enter a subtitle here if you need it

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I - Investigate and Identify

Investigate the Source

  • Read thoroughly and check the source. Just because a source has a great sounding name that includes the word "news," does not mean it is news.

Identify the Writer/Author, Website, Intended Audience

  • Legitimate Articles tend to have real authors
  • Check the “About” or “FAQ” links on website
  • Audience can often be determined by the sharing source

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N - Narrative and Tone

Consider the Narrator’s Tone

Does It Make Sense or seem believable? Is it written to inform, persuade, or entertain?

  • Resist the urge to uncritically accept “click bait / share bait” headlines or posts

Armstrong, Martin, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: Fake News Is a Real Problem.” Statista Infographics, 17 Nov. 2016, www.statista.com/chart/6795/fake-news-is-a-real-problem/.

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F - Fact or Fiction

Find and Verify Facts; Do you have doubts about the claim?

  • Legitimate Articles credit their sources in the story and cite their sources near the end of the article
  • Articles without these require greater scrutiny
  • Fact Checking Websites

Are there Grammatical Errors, LOTS OF ALL CAPS, or excessive punctuation!!!!????

Created by Fake Account

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O - Opinion and Context

Recognize Bias and Opinion of Media

Recognize Your own Biases

  • “Whenever some piece of content makes me feel politically self-righteous—like I’m about to spike a political football—that’s when I know I need to be extra careful about sharing, because there’s likely a misinformation flag somewhere on the field.” ~Timothy Caulfield

Could the Message be viewed as offensive?

Potentially Offensive Content behind this box. Remove/Delete if you wish.

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R - Reliable and Credible

Confirm if Source is Trustworthy; not satirical

Are Claims believable?

  • analyze the sources within the article.
    • Do the links work?
    • Do the experts quoted exist?
    • Do they have a particular bias?
    • Can you find the sources?

Are claims supported by other sources

  • If it is a major news story, do you really think only one online news site would cover it?

Remain Skeptical and don’t share until you can verify

In 2016, a parody article that first appeared on a site called WTOE 5 then picked up by other “fake” news sites including Southend News Network and Ending the Fed. These were shared extensively on Facebook, but never picked up by a major news outlet.

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M - Misleading or Manipulative

Determine if the content/information is manipulative or misleading

Is there obvious information that appears to be omitted?

Can it be labeled as Misinformation, Disinformation or Malinformation?

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EVENTS

05

You can enter a subtitle here if you need it

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Pro Tips:

Use Fake News Detectors

Games that Teach about Fake News

Compare different sources on the same topic

  • Factitious: Shows you a news article with a hidden source and asks you to guess whether it’s real or fake.
  • Bad News: Takes you behind the scenes and into the mind of a fake news distributor.
  • Fake it To Make It: Takes you behind the scenes at a fake news factory. You become the founder of a fake news site.
  • All Sides: seeks to “expose people to information and ideas from all sides of the political spectrum so they can better understand the world — and each other.
  • Newscompare: Get the real story and filter the spin with side-by-side comparison of the news

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Additional Resources

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Sources

  • Armstrong, Martin, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: Fake News Is a Real Problem.” Statista Infographics, 17 Nov. 2016, www.statista.com/chart/6795/fake-news-is-a-real-problem/.
  • Graham, David A. “Some Real News about Fake News.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 12 June 2019, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/fake-news-republicans-democrats/591211/.
  • Palmer, Erik. “The Real Problem with Fake News.” Ascd, 1 Nov. 2017, www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-real-problem-with-fake-news.
  • Spencer, Laura, and Adina Sullivan-Marlow. “Abraham Lincoln Was a Woman! and Other Fake News.” Google Sites, https://sites.google.com/view/abrahamlincolnwasawoman/home?authuser=0.
  • Vibe, Conscious. “This Is Why (Most) People Only Read Headlines (Scary Study Finds).” The Conscious Vibe, 5 June 2022, https://theconsciousvibe.com/this-is-why-most-people-only-read-headlines-study-finds/#:~:text=Well%2C%20thanks%20for%20at%20least,a%20single%20word%20of%20text.
  • H2I, Lewis University, https://h2i.info/inform/.

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THANKS

Do you have any questions?

jmikla@ecmecc.org

320-425-9095

ecmecc.org

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