Fake news
What is fake news? Why does it matter? How do you spot it? This guide helps you explore the phenomenon of fake news, misinformation and disinformation, to analyse news stories and includes links to reliable online fact checking sites.
What's fake news?
Collins Dictionary describes fake news as ‘false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting’.
The creators of fake news distribute unreliable and misleading information such as conspiracies, rumours, state propaganda, dubious science, hate speech, malware and ransomware often through disconcerting clickbait headlines and news stories.
According to a review of studies of fake news between 2003 and 2017, there are two main motivations behind fake news: ideological and financial.
Fact-checking websites such as BBC News Reality Check, Channel 4 FactCheck, Full Fact, and Snopes can often help you verify the credibility and reliability of news sources before you use them.
If you want know more about individual fact-checking websites then Duke University’s Reporters’ Lab maintains a database of unbiased fact-checking organisations around the world.
