One of the plagues that has most affected social networks and information sites in general is the widespread diffusion of "Fake News", that is, that type of news (often correlated only by photos and captions, in some cases with all the typical elements of the newspaper articles) in which invented news, misrepresented or even worse news of real scenarios or situations brought from a much more "captivating" perspective are reported, so as to be able to easily obtain consents, outrage or negative reactions. Precisely this search for "negative reactions" led to the great success of the Fake News, given the widespread diffusion of social networks among the lower social classes of the population who, due to lack of education or well-established ways of living, blindly believes in everything he reads without being adequately informed.
But without going too far into the behavioral analysis of users who take to Fake News, how can we concretely expose a Fake News and find out if the news we have before us is true or not ">
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1) Check the source
The simplest thing we can do to understand immediately if it is a Fake News or not is to see who reports the news, since not all that glitters is always gold.
Often the managers of these social pages or these hoax sites use names very similar to those of important magazines, news sites or newsstands, so as to easily confuse an inattentive or fast-reading eye, thus providing a solid foothold to who often believes in this type of news.
For example, if my newspaper (invented at the time for this guide) is called Tortastorta.it (famous throughout the country and creator of real and well-founded news), the manager of Fake News sites or pages could easily create a site or page. called Tottastorta.it, thus masking its origin (it will seem an article made by my site, an authoritative source or present on newsstands for decades).
The user will do the rest: he will read the caption (often present directly inside the photo, to be immediately visible), will quickly check the source (falling into the trap) and believe the news, making it run on social media as if it were a truthful thing.
As we have seen, it takes very little to understand whether the source reporting the news is reliable or not: the next time we read a news on social networks or on sites, we always check the source to understand if we should trust or not.
Another valid tool to understand if the source is the right one and not a simple clone is to check on the social network page (such as Facebook) if there is a check mark next to the name, which certifies the authenticity of the page.
If you see the sign next to the name, the page is authentic and not a clone that tries to copy style and fame to spread Fake News.
2) Cross information
Not only can clone pages generate Fake News: every now and then important news outlets feed on fake news and hoaxes, driven by the desire to be the first to spread the news or to gain an opinion advantage (especially for politically deployed newspapers).
We can avoid "well done" Fake News by reading all the news sites that talk about the news: even if treated differently and with inevitable differences, we will thus be able to get a clear picture of the news, finding out for ourselves if it is true or false .
To cross sources, we recommend using these sites during the search, so as to find out immediately if the Fake News is authentic or not:
- ANSA (general news)
- Reuters (general Italian and international news)
- Il Sole 24 Ore (economic news)
If the news we found is not present on these sites or is reported in a completely different way, most likely we stumbled upon a Fake News or a hoax.
We can search on the sites above both using the search engine integrated into the Web pages and using Google, which indexes all the news of these sites.
The search string that we can use on Google is similar to the one presented below:
" News to check site: ANSA.it "
3) Check on the anti-hoax sites
Another very valid tool to recognize and avoid the Fake News is to visit the anti-hoax sites, which expose the Fake News and the material associated with them (images, captions, sites, web pages etc.), by searching for sources and truth in a very scrupulous and detailed way, so as to immediately dismantle any Fake News.
The best Italian anti-hoax sites are the following:
- Butac
- BUFALE.net
- Bufalopedia
- Debunking
- HOAX.it
By checking on these sites we will be able to discover all the hoaxes and Fake News that currently run on social networks and sites, so as to always be informed and thus obtain practical feedback on the information with which we come into contact, without falling into the trap of believing in everything that passes on Facebook or on any other social network.
4) Reduce or block the sources of the Fake News
Now that we know how to recognize hoaxes and Fake News, it's time to see how to report and block the posts and pages that spread this type of news invented on Facebook.
By doing this, we will help others not to fall into the trap more, our report could be decisive for the closure of the page or profile that spreads hoaxes (especially with the new policies applied by Facebook in this regard).
To report a hoax post we just have to click on the three dots at the top right of the news, then use the Report post button.
If, on the other hand, the hoax is spread as a simple image, simply open it, click on Options at the bottom then use the Report photo button.
We found a page that spreads only Fake News ">
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