Spotting Fake News

This week in instructional technology and learning we took a new turn and focused on fake news. The Michigan State University video explain how so many of us get our news or information from social media; this makes sense. Most people spend their time on Facebook or Instagram and are bombarded with click bait articles or long misinformed posts. Because news sites survive off of views they survive off of click-worthy titles that grab readers attention, even if the article doesn’t match the name. How are we supposed to sort through the facts and the falsities? How do we know when something is fake news? How do we avoid clickbait when it seems to cover social media?

I will be honest, I fall easily into the fake news mouse trap. I love reading articles with flashy titles and truly don’t know if the site is selling false facts. I found the simple steps the video shared incredibly enlightening and helpful. First its is so easy to take a second to look at the domain and find the author, this is an easy way to tell if a site you are on is legitimate. One can also check to see if the information or site has already been debunked or verify your information from a variety of sources. I loved how the video mentioned how many fake sites have titles that invoke strong emotions. This is where I found my cheeks blush and realized I need to pay more attention about the news site I find information from! I always click on the title that gets my blood boiling or create any type of strong emotion! Now I know not to trust the source.