Recently Facebook has come under fire for the continuos fake news that circulates their platform. The COO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, was questioned by the US Senate about the problems that fake news on Facebook has caused and how they are going to address it. She can be seen talking about what Facebook is doing in an attempt to combat fake news below:
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says the platform is "now blocking millions of attempts to register false accounts each and every day" and is "making progress on fake news."
"As these past few weeks and months have shown, this work is starting to pay off." https://t.co/9IpCCIDffi pic.twitter.com/R5NXhkMjpN
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 5, 2018
But with all of this misinformation online this leads us to another question, how can we tell what news is authentic?
While some people choose to handle it with a comedic approach
Some late FAKE NEWS /BREAKING NEWS: By @allontheboard #allontheboard #fakenews #breakingnews #londonist #londonsbest #fake #new #news #thursdaymorning #fun #funny #keepgoing #ThursdayThoughts #Exclusive #ThisJustIn #truelies #TransferDeadLineDay #WorldNews #RealityCheck pic.twitter.com/D51UHwq7FT
— All on the board (@allontheboard) August 9, 2018
There are real steps you can take to determine what is fake news and what is real.
First off, checking where the information is coming from. Facebook verifies big users with a blue checkmark next to their name, confirming that they are the real person. Public figures vary from politicians such as Hilary Clinton to social media influencers such has Youtube star Liza Koshy. Information from verified users heighten the likely hood that the news is true.
Another way to differentiate between fake news and real news is titles of articles. Webwise cautions people about titles that fall into the category of “clickbait”. Referring to outrages titles that are just used to get more clicks and views on their perspective websites. Most of these articles are fake news, and is just used as a tactic to get people to click on the link.
And lastly, in the era of fake news, cross checking information with other sources is key. If something seems off double check it against credible news sources. Because no one is safe from falling victim to fake news, not even you.