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Before sharing any online news article with your Facebook friends list, ask yourself these questions:
Who wrote the article?
Real news stories will contain a byline from a real journalist. This byline should be a link where you can look at the author’s bio, and be able to tell whether their stories are published as credible news articles or persuasive opinion pieces.
What sources does the article cite?
There should be multiple primary sources to back up the statements of the author. These sources should be linked to, and independently verifiable. Be suspicious of sites that include dead links, or link to opinion pieces.
When was the article published?
The article should be led by a publication date. If this information is missing, it's possible it's an old, unrelated story being made to look relevant or new.
For breaking news stories, always take up-to-the-minute info with a grain of salt. The same rules for sources apply - but it's easier to get caught up in wanting any information at all, even unverified info.
Who published it?
Not only should you recognize the source of an article, you should verify that the source is actually who they claim to be. During the election, viral news articles were spread from "abc.com.co" (which is NOT the website for the American Broadcasting Company), as well as from the Boston Tribune (which is not, in fact, an actual print publication).
Legitimate news outlets should have listed staff members and a physical location (even online outlets have real-world offices). If there's no way to contact the publication, it should raise flags.
The good news?
After the last few months, there are more people than ever watching for "fake news" - and sites like Facebook and Google have committed to making it easier for people to report any that they spot.
If anything, the increased attention means the "fake news" problem is one that's slowly getting better.
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