How to identify fake news online in the age of social media

More people are getting their information online, but not everything you read is accurate.

[howardcurtis]

Some people are acting like "fake news" is something that came into being a little over four years ago. I grew up thinking that you could rely on what you read in the newspapers because, well, they had a duty to report the truth. But, in 1965 I saw something with my own eyes and then read an account of it in the Oakland Tribune. I had been at a meeting of the UC student body in the Greek Theater where President Clark Kerr laid down the law about university restrictions on free speech. After he finished and walked away from the microphone, the student leader, Mario Savio, jumped up on the stage. As five or six cops lunged forward to grab him, 2500 students chanted, "Let him speak!" President Kerr called off the cops and let him speak. But, when I read an account of this in the Tribune, it said that Savio had jumped up on the stage and grabbed the microphone out of President Kerr's hands. That was a patent lie to poison the minds of their readers against the students' protest. The newspaper was owned by the Republican senator Knowland, so you can figure out why the paper distorted the truth. Ever since then I've considered anything I read in the newspaper suspect. For instance, why didn't the NYT or the WP tell us that George W. Bush was lying through his teeth about weapons of mass destruction to lie us into war? None of these media should be believed without looking further and find out the truth for yourself!

[OG]

the problem is the "TRUSTED SOURCES" have all gone bad.
It's been that way long before TV or radio.

[davidleaman]

We had the Space Age (still in it), the Computer Age (still in it), the Age of Social Media (in it) the Age of e-commerce. All the Ages are based mostly on "WANTS" but not on "NEEDS". Social Media is something that we wanted but now we see that we "NEED" to do some reforms (to what can be said). How about banning any Politics or Religion commentary or content on social media by anyone? That rule has been in place for us "Amateur Radio Operators" for about 80 years ("unenforced" except by other Amateurs and the threat of possible complaints to the FCC).Note however, that political conversation has become more prevalent on the radio waves since Trump got into office and is a minor problem. QRU? (Translation. - Have you anything for me?)

[awatchmanonawall]

thats why I dont watch lamestreet news

[flomccanuck]

Helpful for juveniles, nothing new to learn here.