How and Why to Spot "Fake" News Name Institution Affiliation Date 1. If you had to help someone spot "fake news," what would you tell them? Choose a news article from a reputable media outlet and compare it to an online store that you know is fake. Fake news is a major trending issue especially propagated through the social networks and adopted by many individuals. If I was to help someone to check ‘’fake news’’ I would tell them to check on the credibility of that news by consulting the experts. This method is efficient as someone may have already established the facts. On news that is viral, I would recommend critical evaluation of the author and the media used to pass that information. For example, consider the news aired by CNN titled, “Trump on Paris Accord: we are moving out” that explains Trump withdrawal from the Paris agreement on global warming (Liptak & Acosta, 2017). Comparing this with ‘Melania Trump body double’ that claimed Melania had employed an identical person to help her skip commitments (www.snopes.com). One assessment criterion is the main source in which the latter main source was the social media while the former source is an accredited source with clear details of the journalists. 2. Using the checklist provided on the fact check website, compare the two. …show more content…
These cognitive biases are usually expressed when an individual already has a predestined argument even when the information at hand has no established truth (Pope & Becnel, 2018). Cognitive bias is a major source of hindrance to reader's investigation on whether the news is true or fake. When a statement addresses the opponent negatively it is automatically perceived. Cognitive bias does more harm than good. The capacity to control and stop fake news is the ability of the reader. For this reason, it is advisable to strictly ensure that the news is real before it's adopted and