Much has been written in the last few weeks about how we consume and share news, links and information around and beyond the recent elections. Do we live in a post-truth world? These are not new issues but social media and the internet have created new profit models around deliberately creating and perpetuating incorrect information.

Suggestions to become better users of information

1) Say No to Clickbait and check the domain name

Is it a .com? .org? Or a fake version of a real site (e.g. abc.com.co)?

• How Fake New goes Viral by Sapna Maheshwari. New York Times. November 20, 2016.
• Facebook fake-news writer by Caitlin Dewey. The Washington Post. November 17, 2016. 
• How Free Web Content Traps Us In An Abyss Of Ads & Clickbait. Interview with Tim Wu on his book, The Attention Merchants. October 17, 2016.
• We Tracked Down a Fake-News Creator in the Suburbs. Here’s What we Learned by Laura Sydell from All Tech Considered, National Public Radio. November 23, 2016.

2) Check the date

Has it just been labeled as “breaking news” even though it is out of date? Who is the author? Google them? What are their credentials or experience? Who supports the site?

• Snopes.com
• Fact Check.org
• PoliticalFact.com
• Media Bias/Fact Check

3) Find the original source and read it

This will help you form your own opinions. Get a variety of opinions on topics you care about. Advocate for real news and call out the fake and biased.

• From Hate Speech to Fake News: The Content Crisis Facing Mark Zuckerberg by Aarti Shahani from National Public Radio, All Tech Considered. November 17, 2016.
• Fake News on Face is a real problem. These college students came up with a fix in 36 hours by Colby Itkowitz. The Washington Post. November 18, 2016.

4) Start at a library: lib.umn.edu

Librarians at the University of Minnesota are here to help. We teach and support students’ growing Information Literacy skills — which are a great anecdote to fake news. We will not judge you for your ideas and opinions. We’re here to help you and all students, faculty, and staff become more informed consumers and producers of information.

• Race and Equity in Minnesota: Library Research Guide
• The filter bubble: what the Internet is hiding from you by Eli Pariser. 2011. Walter Library  (Level F) (ZA4237 .P37 2011)
• The Shallows How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember by Nicholas G. Carr. 2010 (online)
• Blur: how to know what’s true in the age of information overload by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. Journalism Library (PN4815.2 .K68 2010)
• unSpun: finding facts in a world of disinformation by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson Journalism Library (BF637.D42 J33 2007)

Read more

• Fake News Expert on How False Stories Spread and Why People Believe Them. Fresh Air interview with Craig Silverman. December 14, 2016. 
• Fact Finder’s Guide to Facts by Steve Inskeep. National Public Radio. December 11, 2016.
• Man Fires Rifle Inside D.C. Pizzeria, Cites Fictitious Conspiracy Theories by Camila Domonoske. National Public Radio. December 5, 2016. 
• Fact or Faked: Tools for Spotting Fake News from Metro State University Library
• What we can Learn from Fake News by Angela Cochran. The Scholarly Kitchen. November 15, 2016.
• Fake news is on the rise. Can you tell the difference by Christopher Magan. Pioneer Press. November 17, 2016.
• The Moral Bias behind your Search Results by Andreas Ekstrom. TED Talk, January 2015.

Questions or comments?

Please contact Lindsay Matts-Benson (matt0341@umn.edu) or Kate Peterson (katep@umn.edu) with comments or questions.