These are a few starting points for interesting and websites about Fake News and information literacy pertaining to the subject. Please check in for periodic updates. Please log in with your URegina information as prompted.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that half of American adults get their news on social media sites, such as Facebook, X, TikTok, and Reddit.
With the internet's ability to rapidly spread information (and misinformation), fake news is on the rise. Disreputable websites generate false reports and "click-bait" in order to promote a particular ideology and/or to make money. Other sites that are meant to entertain with humour and satire (eg. The Onion) are often wrongly taken as serious news sites.
Melissa Zimdars, a professor of communication and media from Merrimack College, has compiled a list of news sources to beware of. This list includes sites that are deliberately false or misleading, those that may share misinformation, those that generate "click-bait", and those that are satire. In all cases, view articles with a critical eye and look for other, reputable sources to confirm the information presented.
A bit about bias...
While some news may not necessarily be fake, it may be presented in a biased manner to support a particular ideology. It's important to be able to recognize if your news source is neutral or biased. Does the source simply present the facts, or does it use emotional language and rhetoric? Are the headlines sensational? Do they evoke an emotional response from you? (It's also important to be aware of your own bias!)
There are websites that can help you determine whether or not a news source is prone to bias. Two of these are:
Media Bias/Fact Check - an independent, searchable media database that has analyzed over 1600 news sources for bias and reliability.
AllSides - AllSides argues that "unbiased news does not exist." Its aim is to present the daily news from a wide variety of sources, and identify whether that source comes from the left, right, or center of the political spectrum. It exposes the reader to viewpoints they might not normally see because of their own personal bias or filter bubbles.
Pictures are powerful, but they don't always tell the truth. They can be altered, faked, or misused (eg. used out of their original context). There are tools available to help you determine the veracity of images you see on the web: