The internet has done amazing things for our world. It has brought people closer together, accelerated the speed with which exciting business ideas come to fruition, and much more.
An unfortunate side effect, though, is that the internet is host to lots of misinformation. People spread this information both accidentally and unintentionally – sometimes with a driven desire to cause confusion, and other times out of a misinformed desire to inform others about the world around them.
Misinformation and “fake news” is really affecting the fabric of our society and sowing intense division between ideological groups. We all owe it to ourselves – and the rest of society – to be as informed and empowered as possible when it comes to differentiating between real and fake news.
Here’s a closer look at how you can determine whether or not a piece of news is real or fake.
Be Critical
Whenever you read a piece of news, you should be sure to remain critical. Don’t fall into the habit of accepting a piece of news at face value – challenge it from a range of perspectives and see if all of the details are really correct.
If you have found a quality news source, you’ll find that this is already the case. The Hutchinson Report is an example of a news source that gets this right. This professional reporter takes the news seriously and approaches stories at every possible angle before publishing a piece.
Check the Reporter
If you want to be truly rigorous when it comes to determining the quality of a piece of news, it’s important that you also pay attention to the reporter. Most people trust a certain news source and for them, that’s enough.
Each publication will employ a host of writers from a range of ideological backgrounds, so it’s important that you better understand those people and the background that informed their opinions.
You should be sure to check the writer’s profile on the news website and even explore them in further depth elsewhere. This will help you to identify and agenda that they might have.
Examine the Evidence
News pieces do not exist in isolation – they are informed by a wide range of sources and events. If you want to verify that a piece of news is accurate, you should feel comfortable looking up source material and digging deeper.
Let’s imagine, for example, that a news piece focuses around the number of Huawei phones sold in the USA. If you suspect that something is off and the reporter perhaps has an agenda, you could investigate that statistic yourself to get a fuller picture of Pinnacle VIP code.
Use Snopes
Sometimes, fake news is incredibly insidious and sneaky – so much so that it makes you question reality. Other times, real news is so bizarre that it seems as though it must be fiction.
If you find that you’re feeling lost and can’t tell reality from fiction, you’ll want to use Snopes to verify a story. Snopes has emerged as the leading fact-checking site that helps you to determine the reality behind urban legends, folklore, rumors, and misinformation.
We hope that these tips help you to approach news critically to see our world for what it really is.