How to Differentiate Fake News from Real News

How+to+Differentiate+Fake+News+from+Real+News

Jasmine Linares, Writer

It has been a trend in today’s society that generation Z retrieve their  local and worldwide news through social media platforms. The problem is that many people are believing the “fake news” and share it everywhere for others to believe it. It is important for individuals, especially those who surf the social media web, to differentiate what’s real and what’s not.

First and foremost, Fake news is any “news” article containing untrue information that is distinguished as credible news sources. Although, you must take in account that there are sites that produce satire articles centered around current events in the world. Satire sites, such as The Onion, contain work that is intended to be funny and is not real but does not necessarily mean fake. The purpose for these sites is joke around about the topic with the reader having knowledge about the writer’s theme.

One way in determining if the media source is fake or not, is by checking the website or article itself. For example, there are well known sources an average American can identify and trust such as USA Today, NBC, ABC, The Wall Street Journal, etc. Fake sources create clickbate and go for a surprised value and produce fake stories that are not as recognized.

Another way to check is to research. If an event has occurred, it is very likely that other news sources have covered the topic or event. Also, while reading the article, fact check the evidence the source provided along with dates.

When you have determined if the article is fake news or real news, it is important to only share if it’s real in order to decrease the amount of fake news being spread to be read by others.