THE arrival of Facebook and its social media replicas brought with it a surge of happy, glossy images to our lives with the promise of ‘connecting friends’. However, the flipside of this powerful information tool has been an inundation of fake news with some truly devastating influence.
With the ongoing pandemic, recent civil unrest and upcoming local government elections, the time is ripe for a resurgence of fake news doing the rounds. Make sure you don’t get caught out, by following these 5 tips.
Tip 1: Be a critical reader
Everyone has some form of bias and this is quickly picked up by social media algorithms – it’s why targeted advertising is so successful. They know what you want and deliver it to you on a silver platter. That’s why we so often get caught up in fake news cycles – we’re reading what we want to believe is true. The more aware you are of your own bias, the more likely you are to read critically and analyse the facts at hand.
Tip 2: Check your sources
If your conspiracy theorist uncle in his tinfoil hat told you to get into a bunker because the aliens were en route, would you believe him? However, if Nasa held a press conference alerting you to the fact that they have discovered scientific evidence of alternative life, would you believe them? It’s the same with online stories. Check who is reporting the news before you believe it. Extensions like .infonet or .offer rather than .com or .co.za should raise some red flags. And remember that reputable sites can also be doctored.
Tip 3: Are other sites reporting the story?
If you’ve checked the sources and they seem legit, quickly do a search to find out if other reputable news sources are also covering the story. If it’s big enough to capture your attention, then the mainstream media would’ve undoubtedly picked up on it as well. Sites like CNN, Reuters, BBC, Daily Maverick or Caxton have stringent editorial guidelines, so try checking these first.
Tip 4: Check the quality
Another big red flag is any spelling or grammatical errors or inconsistencies in the story. Are they using ALL CAPS? Are there lots of exclamation marks!!!!!? A reputable news source will perform rigorous editing and proofreading so it’s unlikely such errors would pop up repeatedly. Does the story sound similar to one reported a few years ago? If so, it’s likely the story is being recycled or taken out of context.
Tip 5: Use fact-checking sites
You don’t just have to rely on your own hunches or investigation when it comes to weeding out fake news stories, there are many websites dedicated to sifting out the lies. Some of the top sites you can check with are:
• FactCheck.org
• Snopes.com
• PolitiFact.com
• Poynter.org
• Washingtonpost.com
Images can also be doctored or recycled from years back. To check legitimacy, you can do a Google reverse image search. Simply right click on the image, select ‘Search Google for image’, and check the results.
Fake news types
Remember that fake news is meant to be believable, otherwise it won’t be shared. And there are actually 3 types of fake news stories to watch out for:
1. Completely untrue
These stories are entirely invented and designed to make people believe something false so they either visit a certain website or buy a product.
2. Stories that are partially inaccurate
These are often the toughest fake news stories to identify as there is some truth in them, but the full truth is not given. An example is only including part of a quote to swing the story.
3. Gaslighting
This is when factually accurate stories are misconstrued as ‘fake news’ as a way to confuse and manipulate the masses. People are forced to doubt their own perceptions and the truth.
Don’t be manipulated, be informed. Check every story before you share it!
