1. Stranger than Fiction: Telling Real News From Fake
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Presented by Britt McGowan and Amanda Ziegler, UWF Libraries

2. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Fake. One of the most widely shared news stories of the election. The Denver Guardian is a fake news site that takes a city name and adds it to a popular real news name (“the Guardian”). There is an interview with the creator of the site on NPR:

3. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Real. Keep in mind, however, that this is an endorsement by an individual and therefore, an opinion.

4. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Fake.

5. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Fake.

6. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Real! A study did find that chocolate improved memory while exercise didn’t in year olds. However, the click-bait headline is misleading, and the study does conflict with other research.

7. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Real. But, how do you think this would be reported on a conservative news site? Would it be reported on at all?

8. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Fake. Think about what you know and have heard. Notice that the URL ends in “dot info.”

9. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Real. Again, how would this be reported in far-left and far-right leaning news sites?

10. Fake or Real?
Fake
Real
Real, but notice the bias in the headline.

11. This is some basic criteria for evaluating web sources
This is some basic criteria for evaluating web sources. Is it up-to-date? (Ever click on something going viral and notice it happened in 2004? Why are we outraged now?) Is it relevant to your news needs? Is it free from error and contain references? Do other news stories corroborate the information? Who wrote or what organization published the story? Do they have the right credentials? Known for good journalism? Finally, what is the purpose – is it meant to sway you towards an agenda?

12. These are great fact-checking sites to double-check news stories.

13. This is a graph from Pew Research Center that shows the audience’s political leanings of each news organization. Now, this chart makes no claims on the news organizations themselves, but it does offer a window into what news is more palatable to different parties.

14. This chart was not made by an expert – but by a patent attorney (Vanessa Otero). It has created a lot of controversy, but we like it because it shows how people can get stuck in their own filter bubble and feed into their confirmation biases. It also offers a vehicle to talk about in-depth and basic news sources as well.

16. Finally, a note on trolls…
A sad day for the real Nicholas Jones…
It turns out, the real CVS manager named Nicholas Jones never wrote that response on the CVS page. Instead, it was written by a troll. Googling it dispelled this in 5 minutes.

17. Want to share some info on fake news with friends?
Share our guide!