Disinformation in the News: Determining Truth from Fiction

"Fake News," is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, it has a very long history.

Before it became an easy accusation to sling at a political opponent without any attempt to verify facts, fake news described "the intentional creation and distribution of factually inaccurate information, in order to influence or profit or both."

In modern times, concerns about the impact of fake news or related concepts like misinformation on society have ignited debates about the best methods for countering the spread of bad information, including the de-platforming of bad actors, disclaimers on posted content, and changes in the ways that media literacy is taught at all levels of education.

"Documenting Misinformation" with Transcript

You might be able to add more types of Fake News to this list, but the main types are these:

• Hoax
• Propaganda
• Bias
• Satire

Image credit: All SIFT materials here are adapted from Mike Caufield's blog under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

When in doubt about the validity of a news source, use a CRAAPP test!