According to the fact checking website Politifact, fake news is a "concerted effort by a website or other form of media to fabricate information in order to influence political opinion or win financial gain." Use this LibGuide to help you determine fact from fiction when reading the news or for finding credible sources for your research.
Text description of How to Spot Fake News infographic for web accessibility
The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has made this infographic with eight steps to discover the verifiability of a given news-piece in front of you.
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In any conversation about evaluating information, it's important to recognize that we are all susceptible to believing false information. This is not the problem of any one class or section of society. While education plays a major role in determining an individual's ability to analyze information, people of all educational background are made vulnerable to fake news by their own biases. Confirmation bias refers to the human tendency to seek out information that supports one's existing beliefs, and to reject, ignore, downplay, or reinterpret information that contradicts them (Heshmat, 2019). Because of this phenomenon, it often takes more effort to refute fake news that matches your beliefs.
