LibGuides: Fake News, Disinformation &amp; Misinformation: How to Spot It

How to Spot It

These are things to look at that can help you determine if you are reading or watching fake news.

1. Credentials

Is the source of the news story a known legitimate news outlet? Is it from a news source that is also available as broadcast news or an online or print magazine?

2. Objectivity

Does the author of the news story have an agenda? Are they associated with a special interest group? 3. Documentation Are sources given in the story? Can you find the sources cited to verify the information? Do individuals interviewed as sources have some kind of expertise on the topic, such as their profession, education or were they a witness to the news event?

4. Conclusions

Do the conclusions that the news story comes to about the topic line up with other sources on the topic? This is actually the most important piece since fake news sources may also fake credentials, documentation, etc.

Also Look Out For

Fake news sites are notorious for creating names similar to legitimate news sources to make their stories seem credible.

The sites below have more tips on how to spot fake news stories

Do You Know Fake News When You See it?

Fake news would not be a problem if people knew it when they saw it. It matters because most people have trouble identifying fake news.

A Pew Research study (link below) showed that 64% of Americans had a great deal of confusion with an additional 24% having some confusion. That's a lot!

Read these eBooks

Go to A-Z Databases: Books & eBooks to search for more eBooks. Must access on campus or login with your COM account for off campus access.

Want more on finding books or eBooks? Try our How to Use Books & eBooks guides.

The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking, Second Edition This book will help you: Recognize what information to fact-check Identify the quality and ranking of source materials Learn to fact-check a variety of media types: newspaper; magazine; social media; public and commercial radio and television, books, films, etc. Navigate relationships with editors, writers, and producers Recognize plagiarism and fabrication Discern conflicting facts, gray areas, and litigious materials Learn record keeping best practices for tracking sources Test your own fact-checking skills An accessible, one-stop guide to the why, what, and how of contemporary editorial fact-checking.   Over the past few years, fact-checking has been widely touted as a corrective to the spread of misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and propaganda through the media. "If journalism is a cornerstone of democracy," says author Brooke Borel, "then fact-checking is its building inspector."   In The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking, Borel, an experienced fact-checker, draws on the expertise of more than 200 writers, editors, and fellow checkers representing the New Yorker, Popular Science, This American Life, Vogue, and many other outlets. She covers best practices for editorial fact-checking in a variety of media--from magazine and news articles, both print and online, to books and podcasts--and the perspectives of both in-house and freelance checkers.   In this second edition, Borel covers the evolving media landscape, with new guidance on checking audio and video sources, polling data, and sensitive subjects such as trauma and abuse. The sections on working with writers, editors, and producers have been expanded, and new material includes fresh exercises and advice on getting fact-checking gigs. Borel also addresses the challenges of fact-checking in a world where social media, artificial intelligence, and the metaverse may make it increasingly difficult for everyone--including fact-checkers--to identify false information. The answer, she says, is for everyone to approach information with skepticism--to learn to think like a fact-checker.    The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking is the practical--and thoroughly vetted--guide that writers, editors, and publishers continue to consult to maintain their credibility and solidify their readers' trust.  
Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies: How to Find Trustworthy Information in the Digital Age Are you overwhelmed at the amount, contradictions, and craziness of all the information coming at you in this age of social media and twenty-four-hour news cycles? Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies will show you how to identify deceptive information as well as how to seek out the most trustworthy information in order to inform decision making in your personal, academic, professional, and civic lives. Learn how to identify the alarm bells that signal untrustworthy information. Understand how to tell when statistics can be trusted and when they are being used to deceive. Inoculate yourself against the logical fallacies that can mislead even the brightest among us. Donald A. Barclay, a career librarian who has spent decades teaching university students to become information literate scholars and citizens, takes an objective, non-partisan approach to the complex and nuanced topic of sorting deceptive information from trustworthy information.
How to Become a Human Bullshit Detector: Learn to Spot Fake News, Fake People, and Absolute Lies Lying is a normal part of human communication and is sometimes necessary to protect someone’s feelings. At the same time, there are also malicious lies meant to deceive, cheat, and defraud. Especially in today’s world, in which technology, media, and the government have blurred the lines between fact and fiction, you can’t always rely on what comes out of someone’s mouth or what you see on the internet or television. It doesn’t take mind-reading superpowers to be able to tell when someone is lying—but it does take special skills and a little practice. In How to Become a Human Shit Detector, international expert in undercover operations Dr. David Craig provides readers with an easy-to-follow guide on applying lie-detection skills to your everyday life. From the simple skills of bargaining, making a purchase, or dealing with children, to the more serious business of negotiating a contract, identifying infidelity, or understanding lies in politics, Craig delivers simple but effective tips and techniques we can all use to see behind the façade and find our way to the truth. The culmination of more than twenty years of practical criminology and hundreds of hours of academic research, this book is the premier guide to the art of lie-detecting. Split into three parts, the book looks at understanding lies and how to detect lies, and it includes an easy reference section that summarizes all the main points. The mystery of what a person is really thinking is finally unlocked in this fascinating and informative book.

Watch These Videos

Try these videos to get started. Must access on campus or login with your COM account for off campus access.

Want more on finding media? Try Articles & Media.

How to Recognize Fake News (2 parts) Series Think of fake news as a disease. Without knowing how to identify and stop its spread, information literacy is at risk, especially among audiences whose critical thinking skills are vulnerable. This video series equips viewers with tools to spot the stories and images that are false, biased, altered or slanted, even those shared by trusted friends or family. Easy tips to detect and check fake news will encourage scrutinizing material for opinion, inaccuracy or misrepresentation. Target audiences learn how to avoid being duped by fake news and may be less quick to click until they know what’s real and what’s not.
Recognizing Online Propaganda, Bias, and Advertising (23:04) While their motives aren’t always evil, people who bend the truth don’t usually do so for the greater good, either. The online world is no exception—in fact, it’s a paradise for purveyors of hype, pseudo-journalism, and intellectual snake oil. This video explores ways to identify bias and propaganda on the Internet and sift through the various influences, such as political or corporate interests, that may be behind some Web content. Spotlighting key aspects of propaganda and bias-driven writing, such as the use of glittering generalities, name-calling, or card-stacking, the program also presents important tips for differentiating between advertising and genuinely useful, scholarly material—a task made increasingly difficult by cleverly disguised sponsorship. Web savvy is further developed through discussions of URL suffixes (.com, .org, etc.) and what they indicate. Part of the series Internet Research and Information Literacy: Effective Strategies and Cautionary Tales.