Spotting fake news can be hard. Here are some tips to spot fake news:
- Examine URLs: Weird domain names (such as .co in ABCNews.com.co) may indicate fake news websites.
- Check the “About Us”/”Contact Us” page and look at authorship: If there is no “About Us” or “Contact Us” page, the site may not be credible. Check author credentials to get some background information.
- Examine the layout of the website: If the website does not look professionally designed, it may not provide the most unbiased information.
- Search for other sources that published the story: Publication by professional news sources can lend credibility to stories.
- Check for extraordinary claims: Be wary of sources that use click-bait words such as “shocking,” “outrageous,” and “explosive."
- Check links and references: Click on links to see if they go to the story cited.
- If the story seems like satire, it probably is: Most sites feature disclaimers about their satire distinction; follow the story back to the source to see if other stories are satires.
For more information on spotting fake news, watch this video from factcheck.org.
