Have you ever come across something on TikTok or Instagram that just seemed a little too good to be true? That is probably because it is. According to Stephan Orbanek, a student at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, 67 percent of Americans fall victim to fake news on social media. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to tell fake from fact—you just have to look for it.
There are various types of fake news, such as clickbait, propaganda, misleading headlines, imposter content, satire, parody, and just plain poor-quality journalism. Disinformation and misinformation are spread around social media like wildfire, and these all are textbook signs that you are consuming it. Disinformation is fake or misleading stories created and shared deliberately solely for the purpose of tripping you up. These outlets want their stories to become news—even when it really isn’t. Misinformation, on the other hand, is not commonly shared on purpose. While they are still considered fake or misleading stories, it was most likely shared by someone who did not realize the information was false in the first place.
The quickest way to debunk if a story is true is by checking the source of that information. You can easily enter the topic you are reading about into a fact-checking website, such as Snopes.com. It will relay the most unbiased news sources to you, which will give you the most truthful information. Media sources such as Fox News and The Washington Times tend to lean more towards the right side, giving you a more conservative view on information, while medias like The New York Times and CNN tend to lean to the left, giving a more liberal point of view.
This does not necessarily mean all news from these sources are incorrect, but they will be more biased when outputting their news. When reading news that you are unsure about, you should always ask yourself: do you want this to be true because it agrees with what you already believe or what you want to happen? Do you want it to be false because it is about someone or something you love? Your own beliefs should not sway the reality of the news you take in. Some media sources that publish unbiased, centered news are Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and BBC News. When cross-checking the validity of sources, try your hardest to validate your news through these sources.
If you are hearing the news for the first time through a social media site, it most likely is not true. Sure, there are instances where you hear about an actual news story via TikTok, but if it has not been put on live television, it is not news worth believing. This practice is called reading laterally. You always must account for various sides of a story. You can hear one side of the story from someone, but another person involved may have a completely different point of view of what actually happened. You never know all of the facts until you dig.
When scrolling through your phone, make sure the news you are taking in is genuinely true. Without double-checking, you could end up being the person behind the spread of misinformation. Stay alert and cognizant of what you are reading because there are plenty of ways to tell fake from fact as long as you look for it.
