Spotting False Information

One of the main reasons fake news is such a big issue is that it is often believable, so it's easy to get caught out. Much fake news is also written to create "shock value," that is, a strong instinctive reaction such as fear or anger.

This means it's essential that you keep your emotional response to such stories in check. Instead, ask yourself, "Why has this story been written? Is it to persuade me of a certain viewpoint? Is it selling me a particular product? Or is it trying to get me to click through to another website? Am I being triggered?"

If you come across a story from a source you've never heard of before, do some digging!

Check the web address for the page you're reading. Spelling errors in company names, or strange-sounding extensions like ".infonet" and ".offer," rather than ".com" or ".ca" may mean that the source is suspect.

Be aware that people who spread fake news sometimes create web pages, newspaper mockups, or "doctored" images that look official, but aren't. So, if you see a suspicious post that looks like it's from the World Health Organization (WHO), for example, check the WHO's own site to verify that it's really there.

Remember, even if you got the story from your best friend, this gives it no extra authority – they may not have followed these steps themselves before forwarding!

A credible news story will include plenty of facts – quotes from experts, survey data and official statistics, for example. Or detailed, consistent and corroborated eye-witness accounts from people on the scene. If these are missing, question it!

Does the evidence prove that something definitely happened? Or, have the facts been selected or "twisted" to back up a particular viewpoint?

Modern editing software has made it easy for people to create fake images that look real. However, there are some warning signs you can look out for. Strange shadows on the image, for example, or jagged edges around a figure.

Images can also be 100 percent accurate but used in the wrong context. For example, photos of litter covering a beach could be from a different beach or from 10 years ago, not the recent alleged event.

We live in the age of the 24-hour news cycle. Unlike a bygone era, when printing and broadcast schedules allowed for time to edit, fact-check, and amend news before publishing, news can reach a global audience instantly at the push of the button.

On the flipside, whereas TV broadcasts and daily newspapers are somewhat disposable, news articles published online can remain out there in the virtual world permanently.

Often, they are published and forgotten about. Though new facts may subsequently come to light, these articles aren’t updated. To ensure you are reading up-to-date information, always check the date the information was published.