10 Ways to Spot a Fake News Article - EasyBib Blog For many of us, 2016 is going down as a year to forget. Election upsets, Zika, the Syrian crisis, and unfortunately tons of fake news about all of the above and everything in between. Denzel Washington was recently quoted as saying, “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. 1. Links and citations allow us to easily access, read, and explore more about the information found in the article. Many big name news sites, such as CNN, do not include links or citations, but other sites do. 2. An article without an author’s name is another red flag. 3. Do a Google search on the author’s name to find their occupation and locate other articles that the author has composed. 4. On the top or bottom of most websites, you should see a section titled “About Us.” 5. Authors tend to read and re-read their articles numerous times prior to posting. 6. Copy and paste a quote from the article into Google’s search bar. 7. Do a simple keyword search on Google for a similar article. 8. 9. 10.
How Wikipedia Tackles Fringe Nonsense Wikipedia is an interesting experiment in amateur crowdsourcing of information. I think it is a massively successful experiment, but it faces specific challenges. This page on Wikipedia discusses their approach to what information they allow to remain in their pages. In my opinion they have settled upon a reasonable approach that might even be used as a model in other contexts. So the wiki model is ideal for quantity, but what about quality. There haven’t been many studies since then, but a 2012 small follow up study found no significant difference between Wikipedia and other sources. What are Wikipedia’s quality control policies? These filters are absolutely essential for any open source project like this. Wikipedia admits, however, that its filters are not currently adequate: What I find particularly interesting is that the Wikipedia experience is a microcosm of a free society in general, and not just with social media. Shouldn’t the free marketplace of ideas sort it all out, though?
Social Media Inventory for High School Students - Teaching Sam and Scout Just popping in real quick to share a simple but, I think, meaningful activity I did with my students a few weeks as part of “Digital Citizenship Week” at our school… Kids hear a lot today about being responsible with their social media accounts. We warn them that potential employers and college admissions counselors look at what they post and tell them horror stories of people having their lives ruined because of one stupid tweet or thoughtless Facebook rant. BUT, the truth is, most of them still have the “that wouldn’t happen to me” or “my stuff isn’t that bad” attitude when it comes to their personal accounts… This activity at least attempts to personalize the concept of digital citizenship for them. – I started by introducing the concept of digital citizenship (basically being a responsible user of social media and other forms of technology) and talking about the impact that the things they post NOW can have on their futures etc. Social Media Self Inventory (Word Document)
— iKeepSafe Kids How Photos Fuel the Spread of Fake News Even rudimentary skills aren't required to create, say, a meme of Seddique Mateen, whose son Omar Mateen fatally shot 48 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that allegedly shows him visiting Hillary Clinton’s office at the State Department this year. Never mind that Clinton resigned from the job three years before. Photos play a key role in making fake news stories go viral by bolstering the emotional tenor of the lie. Such images can reinforce existing prejudices. These dirty tricks work because most people believe a photograph represents reality. Makela's photo of Clinton shows how insidious, and easy, it has become to use photos to sell a lie. This works to the advantage of those who sell lies as truth, knowing that people believe what they see—and see what they believe.
Turning Your Students Into Web Detectives Our students use the web every day—shouldn’t we expect them to do better at interpreting what they read there? Perhaps, but not necessarily. Often, stereotypes about kids and technology can get in the way of what’s at stake in today’s complex media landscape. Sure, our students probably joined Snapchat faster than we could say “Face Swap,” but that doesn’t mean they’re any better at interpreting what they see in the news and online. As teachers, we’ve probably seen students use questionable sources in our classrooms, and a recent study from the Stanford History Education Group confirms that students today are generally pretty bad at evaluating the news and other information they see online. Now more than ever, our students need our help. In a lot of ways, the web is a fountain of misinformation. Here’s a list of fact-checking resources you and your students can use in becoming better web detectives. FactCheck.org Download a student-friendly version here. PolitiFact Snopes OpenSecrets.org
Best practices for attribution You can use CC-licensed materials as long as you follow the license conditions. One condition of all CC licenses is attribution: crediting the author and giving the source information. Generally speaking, attribution must reasonably include all relevant information supplied by the licensor. Because each use case is different, you can decide what form of attribution is most suitable for your specific situation. The following examples are intended to illustrate what typical prudent practices look like. We expect community norms and expectations to evolve with time, and will adapt this guide accordingly. Basic components of attribution Whenever you are reusing CC licensed works, we recommend that the attribution include the Title, Author, Source, and License. Let’s now go through TASL — we will explain each element in more detail: Title: What is the name of the work? If a title was provided for the work, include it as a part of the attribution. Author: Who allows you to use the work? Title?
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SearchReSearch: Search Challenge (11/11/15): Fake or real? How do you know? Unfortunately... ... people have been faking stories, photos, and claims for as long as humans have been around. Of course now we're aided by technology, which sometimes makes these deceptions a bit more difficult to ferret out. Here's an early famously faked photograph: This is one of the images of the Cottingley Fairies. In 1920, a series of photos, supposedly taken by two young girls while playing in the garden, claimed to show that fairies really did exist. Even Arthur Conan Doyle, he of Sherlock Holmes fame, was taken in by the images. 2. Review 1: Stayed here for two nights with my wife and golden retriever in a pet friendly room. Review 2: We only stayed for one night but I would have happily stayed here longer. 3. Quote 1: “Do you want to know who you are? Quote 2: “That the obliquity of the ecliptic, when these elephants lived, was so great as to include with the tropics all those reasons in which the bones are found." As always, let us know how you figured these Challenges out!