How To Avoid Being Fooled By Your Facebook News Feed

Posted on by Monica Kimberley Savanne

What simply began as a social networking site, Facebook has unfortunately become a breeding ground for fake news. Gone are the days when our timelines were only filled with embarrassing, overly-personal status updates, corny photos, and over-tagging. Instead, our news feeds are being flooded with fake news and clickbait. It’s becoming increasingly different to differentiate between what’s authentic and what isn’t on Facebook which has been shown to be harmful to both domestic and international communities. The company was recently in hot water for the invasion of its users privacy through Cambridge Analytica’s data mining.

These are some methods I use when determining what information is false on Facebook. Firstly, I try to always check where articles are being sourced from and who wrote them. If the publication is legitimate and the author is credible then I take that as an indicator that the information I’m being presented with is real. I also check whether the author’s sources are reliable. Facebook itself offers tips on spotting fake information through the sites “Help Center” which I have found useful.

In terms of spotting fake accounts, I recently came across an article in Medium that offers some great tips that I apply. Some of these include checking whether the accounts name is the same in URL as it is in the display and looking out for lack of content/interaction. Overall, I’ve found that reading critically, and being careful with what I share on Facebook has been my best defense against inauthentic information.

 

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