Why should you care about whether or not your news is real or fake?
1. You can't verify its claim
A fake news article may or may not have links in it tracing its sources; if it does, these links point only internally to the site's domain or may not contain information pertinent to the article topic.
2. Fake news appeals to emotion
Fake news plays on your feelings - it makes you angry or happy or scared. This is a strategy to stop you from doing fact checking.
3. Authors usually aren't experts
Most authors are not journalists. If they are experts, it's often not in the field relevant to the topic discussed.
4. It can't be found anywhere else
The main idea of a fake news article may not be found in any other news outlets (real or fake)
5. Fake news comes from fake sites
The URL is close enough to a main stream outlet to appear legit (e.g. abcnews.com.co)
Adapted with permission from Fake News Guide created by K.T. Lowe at Indiana University East
Categories of fake news, according to media professor Melissa Zimdars
CATEGORY 1: Fake, false, or regularly misleading websites shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits.
CATEGORY 2: Websites that may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information.
CATEGORY 3: Websites which sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions.
CATEGORY 4: Satire/comedy sites, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news
No single topic falls under a single category - for example, false or misleading medical news may be entirely fabricated (Category 1), may intentionally misinterpret facts or misrepresent data (Category 2), may be accurate or partially accurate but use an alarmist title to get your attention (Category 3) or may be a critique on modern medical practice (Category 4.)
Adapted with permission from Fake News Guide created by K.T. Lowe at Indiana University East