How to Spot Fake News

In this post-truth environment, being able to tell the real from the fake is more difficult yet more important than ever. (Post-truth was the Oxford English Dictionary’s Word of the Year in 2016).

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) have produced this infographic with eight simple steps for you to follow in order to verify what you are reading or watching is reliable.  This infographic can be downloaded and shared freely.

By IFLA (http://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174) [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Academic libraries are coming up with some useful fake news spotting guides for students. One good one is that of the University of Toronto Libraries and another is by Fordham University Libraries.  These, and others, give good links to sites to help you verify what you are reading whether it’s an item of interest that’s just popped up in your Facebook or Twitter feed, or a friend or colleague sharing news on something shocking or improbable.

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