Spotting Fake News

In general, watch for...

Websites created to mimic mainstream news sites:

• Look for contact information with a verifiable address and affiliation.
• Look for an "About" page, often in the header or footer of the home page. Read the "About" page closely for evidence of partisanship or bias. If there's no "About" page and no "Contact" page, be very skeptical.
• In staff listings (or on the "About" page), look critically at the list of executives. Are they real people or stock photos? Open a new tab and look for another profile of the individual (e.g., LinkedIn).
• Perform an independent search for the news source. Compare and verify URLs.
  Example: http://abcnews.com.co/ (fake site) is not the ABC Network News, which is found at http://abcnews.go.com, but the logo and the URL are almost identical.

Advertisements designed to look like news stories:

• Look for labels such as a corporate logo or a tiny statement like "Paid Post," "Advertisement," or "Sponsored by..." This might also take the form of the tiny Ad Choices triangle at the upper right corner of an image.

• These ads often have click bait titles and images to draw readers in. 

Satire:

• News stories that are falsified, exaggerated, and meant to be humorous.
• Example: The Onion is intended to mimic a valid news source, but contains only satirical articles.

• Consider the Source - Click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission and its contact info.
• Read Beyond - Headlines can be outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What's the whole story?
• Check the Author - Do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real?
• Supporting Sources? - Click on those links. Determine if the info given actually supports the story. 
• Check the Date - Reposting old news stories doesn't mean they're relevant to current events.
• Is it a Joke? - If it is too outlandish, it might be satire. Research the site and author to be sure. 
• Check your Biases - Consider if your own beliefs could affect your judgment. 
• Ask the Experts - Ask a librarian or consult a fact-checking site. 

From the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions