FAKE NEWS!

What it is

What it isWhat it isn’t

What it isWhat it isn’t

How to avoid it

A brief history of fake news

Defining fake news

• False or wildly misleading stories aimed at going viral

Defining fake news

• False or wildly misleading stories aimed at going viral

• Goal is to game Google and Facebook’s algorithms for profit

Defining fake news

• False or wildly misleading stories aimed at going viral

• Goal is to game Google and Facebook’s algorithms for profit

• Examples: Occupy Democrats, Right Wing News

What can we do about fake news?

Google has already taken steps to drop known fake news content from its Ad Sense program. Facebook may label it or downgrade it in its algorithm.

What is false news?

• Error-riddled or deceptive stories witha political agenda

What is false news?

• Error-riddled or deceptive stories witha political agenda

• The goal is to persuade and affect public discourse

What is false news?

• Error-riddled or deceptive stories witha political agenda

• The goal is to persuade and affect public discourse

• Examples: Breitbart,Fox News Channel, Huffington Post

What can we do about false news?

“The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself acceptedin the competition of the market.”

— Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Abrams v. U.S. (1919)

What is real news?

• Journalism basedon the “disciplineof verification”

What is real news?

• Journalism basedon the “disciplineof verification”

• Goal is to meet the information needs of a democratic society

What is real news?

• Journalism basedon the “disciplineof verification”

• Goal is to meet the information needs of a democratic society

• Examples: Most traditional news organizations

What can we do about real news?

Support news organizations we trust with subscriptions or, in the case of public media, donations.

Before you share a dubious story

• Ask yourself if there seems to be something fishy about it

Before you share a dubious story

• Ask yourself if there seems to be something fishy about it

• See if you can find anything about it at Snopes.com or another fact-checking site

Before you share a dubious story

• Ask yourself if there seems to be something fishy about it

• See if you can find anything about it at Snopes.com or another fact-checking site

• Check the source — is it a respected news organization or a site you’ve never heard of?

Before you share a dubious story

• Ask yourself if there seems to be something fishy about it

• See if you can find anything about it at Snopes.com or another fact-checking site

• Check the source — is it a respected news organization or a site you’ve never heard of?

• Google some keywords to see if other news organizations are reporting the same story

Worthy of your support

The New York TimesThe Washington Post

The Wall Street JournalThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Herald

Your local newspaperPublic television and radio

Reliable sources of free news

NPR and NPR.orgWBUR, WGBH and their websites

“The PBS NewsHour” and its website“Frontline” and its website

The evening network newscastsThe Christian Science Monitor

The Guardian