Fake news has been a huge problem, especially with the recent election. But just because it is a big problem doesn't mean it is a new problem. Fake news has been around for as long as people have been around. Before it was through word of mouth that fake news got spread so you could physically see if the person who was spreading or writing the news was trustworthy, but now there's the internet were anyone can say anything, and you won't know. The internet just makes fake news that much easier to get a hold of and spread.
How to figure out if something is "fake news":
1. Be wary of getting your news from Facebook and Twitter (or any other social media for that matter). That can be a hard thing to do since we spend much of our everyday lives on social media of some sort. That means when news breaks, people are most likely to head to social media first, but much of the news on social media isn't true or is more celebrity based.
2. Don't just base news off the headline, read the whole story (or at least skim it). A journalist job realies on getting views/ people to read there stories so of course they're going to use a headline that grabs people's attention. But take the time to skim through the article and get the full story before you go around spreading fake news, without even meaning to.
3. Look at the source. This one may seem kind of obvious but it can be harder than you think. There are many things to take into account when you are consdering where to get the latest news. Are you looking for just the facts? Do you care if there is a bias? Do you want to just hear the news from the point of view you know you'll agree with? A study done by the Pew research center in 2014 led to graph below.
This graph can help you figure out where to get your news based on which are the most sources are the most trusted and if you want your news through a more conservative or more liberal point of view.
These three steps are extremly easy to follow. Once you find a news source you like (maybe by looking at the chart above) you can download an app and get notifications when news stories break. That way you won't have to rely on social media. Just by taking a few extra seconds to exam a source and taking the time to get the full story can help people stay away from fake news.
