How confident are you in your ability to spot fake news?
Nearly 75 percent of Americans are not confident in their ability to spot fake news while only 26 percent of Americans are certain of their ability to notice fake news. Another 67% believe that fake news leads to confusion and 18% contribute fake news to creating mistrust in traditional news sources.
And no wonder Americans are confused! With so much sophisticated fake news out there and being shared with us by trusted loved ones, it is getting harder and harder to spot.
There are still several precautions we can take to safeguard ourselves from fake news.
The first is recognizing that many independent blogs are now branding themselves as news outlets, with several others also using logos and brand identity of trusted media sources to spread disinformation.
“Logos, brand, and other marketing elements can make a site look more legitimate than it really is. Generally speaking, unauthorized news outlets which are not recognized by the Federal Communications Commission lack a system of checks and balances. That means these outlets are free to post whatever they want without consequence. That includes information designed to confuse and sway readers,” reported the Charlotte Observer.
It is extremely important to be vigilant by paying attention to URL, date, author and sometimes who even is sharing the information you are seeing on social media.
Here are six ways of spotting fake news and fact checking misinformation on the web as put together by the Charlotte Observer.
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