6 Steps to Detect Fake News

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Rumors and gossips are not new, but the advent of Social Media as a source of "news" has transformed these rather innocuous talks into something greatly disruptive. Amidst innumerable information, there is a paucity of credibility which gives rise to unverified, source-less, and possibly untrue news being at parity with actual information.

This is what we call Fake News which then takes forms of misinformation, hoaxes, propaganda, and satire. Thousands of people every day become victims of Fake News – wittingly or unwittingly – by considering and sharing them.

Except for those dispersing them for their agendas, the rest might have felt the need of knowing the authenticity before forwarding a WhatsApp message. Here are six steps to guide you to distinguish between real and fake news. 

Step 1: - Develop a Critical Mindset


One of the main reasons for the popularity of Fake News is their believability. The people who develop misinformation do that with the mindset of telling you what you want to listen rather than what’s true. Much Fake News is also written to prompt an instinctive and nervy response from the reader.

This makes it crucial to have a rational and critical approach to all news stories instead of an emotional one. Scrutinizing every story on its merits rather than prior beliefs on the subject will preclude you from falling in the trap of propaganda.

You can ask questions to yourself like "Does this text looks reasonable and balanced?" or "Why has this story been written? Is it to give me general information or to persuade me of a certain viewpoint and trigger me? ” Answering these questions will develop a pragmatic mindset point towards suspected misinformation. 

Step 2: - Verify the Source


Generally, hoax news stories do not come from verified or well-known sources of information. If you come across a news story from a source that you have never heard before then it calls for further digging. Check for multiple spelling errors in the content, in the company names, headlines, etc in the article. These are often the first clues for phony websites.

Strange-sounding domain extensions like "infonet" and ".offer," rather than ".com" or ".in" may mean that the source is suspect. Also, most genuine media houses have the name of authors mentioned under the headings, you can re-check these names on the internet and see if these are associated with the publisher you are reading from or not and whether they have any expertise in the field.

Some sophisticated culprits even develop web-pages and newspaper mock-ups that look official but they aren’t. In such cases, you should cross-check on the official websites of mentioned organizations for any such information.

You should also check the authenticity of the “About Us” section of the suspicious websites. This section will tell you about their aim and their content creators and whether they are journalists or guests. Not having the "About Us" is a cause of concern in itself as well. 

Step 3: - Examine the Evidence


Reliable news stories have plenty of evidence in themselves. Quotes from experts, survey data, detailed, consistent, and corroborated eye-witness accounts and official statistics are the underpinnings of a genuine factual story. If these are missing then you should question the authenticity of the article.

Sometimes fake news stories also cite high-profile sources which again, you can re-check by searching about them on the internet and seeing if they have actually said something like it recently. 

Step 4: - See Who Else Is Reporting It


One of the best ways of checking the credibility of an article is to verify it with trusted media-houses and publishers. Today every large media-conglomerate like The Hindu, Indian Express, and The Times of India has its mobile application. If you suspect a news story or a WhatsApp forward, search for its headline or keywords in these applications and see what they are reporting about it.

Sometimes, reporting on these Apps take a bit of time which is because of their extensive proof-reading processes. If you cannot find a similar report even hours after you first read it then consider it to be untrue or at least unverified.


Step 5: - Scrutinize the Images and Videos


Modern editing software has made it very easy for anyone to deform an image or create new images that look like real. These images are then used for tampering with actual information and also to entice the reader to click on unverified websites and links. To distinguish the fake image from actual ones, you can look for indicators like poor quality, strange shadows, and identical parts.

Some websites also use genuine images and videos out-of-context. These are captured earlier or in a different situation and are then used erroneously for the recent event. They can be unraveled by using the reverse image and video search available through Google and other platforms which tell you when they first appeared on the Internet and whether they have been altered. 

Step 6: - Utilize Fact-Checkers


Finally, before sharing a viral story or video you should go through take a look at what websites like Snopes.com, Factcheck.org, the Washington Post Fact Checker, and PolitiFact.com have to say. These along with an India-specific "WebQoof" by The Quint, pick-up viral stories, proof-read them, and post the results of their authenticity online.

These will not only check the facts for you but will also educate and inform you about further fact-checking viral articles, pictures, and videos.

Written by - Rudransh Khurana

Edited by - Arnav Mehra