LibGuides: How do I: Spot 'Fake' News?

STEP ONE: FOUR SIMPLE MOVES (SIFT)

SIFT (The Four Moves) Downloadable Template

Web Literacy for Student Fact Checkers eBook
This is an unabashedly practical guide for the student fact-checker. It supplements generic information literacy with the specific web-based techniques that can get you closer to the truth on the web more quickly.

Digging Deeper

How to spot misinformation/disinformation online (CBC)
Good article from the CBC explaining that 'Fake News' is really misinformation and disinformation. Provides definitions of common terms and tips on how to spot misleading news.
Evaluating Social Media Sites
Tips from John Hopkins University. Also, check out the article link "How Fake News Tricks Your Brain"

Tools for Monitoring Social Media

OSoMe Social Media Observatory at University of Indiana
Tools for monitoring social media, including Hoaxy (visualize the spread of claims and fact checking), Fakey (game to spot fake news in your social media feeds), BotSlayer etc.

STEP TWO: Learn the Skills

SKILL: Ctrl-F

Does the claim or headline accurately reflect the linked article? Quick check with Ctrl-F

Click into the link
Crtl-F
Type in a keyword from the assertion/headine
Does the assertion match the content? If not, take a pass.

Fact Checking Sources

FactsCan
Canadian political fact-checking site
Snopes
Good site fact checking Internet myths and rumours.
PolitiFact
Reputable American political fact-checking site
FactCheck.org
Includes SciCheck (fact checking science stories), FaceBook Check (debunking Facebook false stories),

STEP THREE: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Can you tell fact from fiction? Ready to check out your online news smarts? Test your knowledge with these practice questions and activities.

FIRST CHALLENGE: FakeOut

Civix: Teaching Information Literacy Skills in the Digital Age
FR/EN With the rise of false and misleading information online, the ability to determine what is true or credible has become an essential skill. Check out this page for games, activities, case studies and other information/digital literacy activities. Canadian content!

SECOND CHALLENGE: Reality Check (MediaSmarts)

Reality Check - the Game
In Reality Check, you’ll learn how to find clues like finding where a story originally came from and comparing it to other sources, as well as how to use tools like fact-checking sites and reverse image searches.

In each mission, you’ll be presented with a story on your social network feed that might be entirely true, entirely false, or somewhere in between. To find out, click on the different parts of the page where you see a magnifying glass. Once you’ve seen all the clues, you can decide how reliable you think it is and how to respond to it.

Because fact-checking shouldn’t be a chore, each scenario is designed to be played in 15 minutes or less.

Test your Knowledge: Digging Deeper

How to Choose Your News: Animated video (4:48 min) providing a deeper dive into the history of media, media forms, evaluation tips and social media sharing. Watch the video and try your hand with the multiple choice & open-ended questions.

Check, Please! Starter Course
Online course consisting of 5 lessons based on the SIFT process for evaluating online information and spotting disinformation. Suitable for facilitated use in classrooms.

How do I: Spot 'Fake' News?