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Spotting Fake News in College Research: Evaluating News Sources

Real or Satire? Website

Look up a website to see reviews/types

How are News Stories Evaluated?  

List of "News" Websites & Ratings of Fake-y-ness

"The Chart" by Vanessa Otero

Vanessa Otero has created and updated this chart and distributed it through her blog and Twitter feed.  What do you think?

Activity

  1. Choose one of the websites from the graphic above [see more well-known ones listed below]

  2. What type of site is this an example of?    Misinformation?    Clickbait?     Highly Partisan?

  3. Identify one story or feature on the main page that helps you identify the site type:

What Kinds of Fake News Exist?

There are four broad categories of fake news

CATEGORY 1: Fake, false, or regularly misleading websites that are shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits.

CATEGORY 2: Websites that may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information

CATEGORY 3: Websites which sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions

CATEGORY 4: Satire/comedy sites, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news