How to spot fake news

Read some tips for spotting fake news to practise and improve your reading skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

Reading text

Every time you're online, you are bombarded by pictures, articles, links and videos trying to tell their story. Unfortunately, not all of these stories are true. Sometimes they want you to click on another story or advertisement at their own site, other times they want to upset people for political reasons. These days it's so easy to share information. These stories circulate quickly, and the result is … fake news.

There is a range of fake news: from crazy stories which people easily recognise to more subtle types of misinformation. Experts in media studies and online psychology have been examining the fake news phenomenon. Read these tips, and don't get fooled!

1. Check the source

Look at the website where the story comes from. Does it look real? Is the text well written? Are there a variety of other stories or is it just one story? Fake news websites often use addresses that sound like real newspapers, but don't have many real stories about other topics. If you aren't sure, click on the 'About' page and look for a clear description of the organisation.

2. Watch out for fake photos

Many fake news stories use images that are Photoshopped or taken from an unrelated site. Sometimes, if you just look closely at an image, you can see if it has been changed. Or use a tool like Google Reverse Image search. It will show you if the same image has been used in other contexts.

3. Check the story is in other places

Look to see if the story you are reading is on other news sites that you know and trust. If you do find it on many other sites, then it probably isn't fake (although there are some exceptions), as many big news organisations try to check their sources before they publish a story.

4. Look for other signs

There are other techniques that fake news uses. These include using ALL CAPS and lots of ads that pop up when you click on a link. Also, think about how the story makes you feel. If the news story makes you angry, it's probably designed to make you angry.

If you know these things about online news, and can apply them in your everyday life, then you have the control over what to read, what to believe and most importantly what to share. If you find a news story that you know is fake, the most important advice is: don't share it!

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Discussion

Have you ever read a fake news story online? Are you worried about this problem?

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Language level

B1 Intermediate

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I've read a lot of fake news, especially when election time in 2019. Many of them ar contained hate speech, irrelevant data and information, and try to drive people's opinion.

I often read some fake news on social media, especially facebook, and I don't really know why that news has been publied and what is its purposes, but I don't usually worry about it because I have already know that isn't true !

Yes. Was horrible because I shared that fake-news in a WhatsApp Group of the Colombian Red Cross and they scolded me.

Yes. I had. Yes, I am.

yes i have read a lot of fake news ọn facebook. There are many pages and account posted fake information that is concerned about hot news to fool. Sometimes i only see pictures or title in that pages, i know its a fake information and i never share. Besides, when i watch film or listen to music on some websites, i see a lot of advertisement which is so interesting, it require user provide my email or account to participate their program but i don't care and i delete it.

Yes, a read a lot of fake news on websites. The last one was, that: wild animals come back on the street big cities. Unfortunately, I believed in that. But then I found the article about this topic, where an author unmasked this fake news.

In this moment, it is very common to find a lot of fake news in social media and it is very easy to be tricked into believing something that is not true.

Every minute or second we read news in social medea, we all know that the new technology as it has many advantages it has a lot of disadvantges, and we have from them fake news. Its so difficult to know if the news are true or fake, and sometiems look as rumours or misinformations but after some time we will see it in official declarations in different chanals and news. sinerly, i m worry fro this problem of fake news that can make the devil as good and the good as devil.

Yes. Unfortunately, I have read fake news story online many times. I am very worried about this problem because It could create social and politicals disorders. For example, In the case of coronavirus people has been bombarded with all kinds of fake news.

Yes, i get to watch fake news online several times. it has unrelated content, looks, fake pictures and lots of advertisement are visible on the same page. Sometimes i get fake emails also, in which, the mailer asks me to share my personal account details to credit the lottery amount which i have never participated. on the spot i delete these types of email.