Gomez 1 Cristina Gomez Professor Sharifian GOVT-2305-71433 30 November 2017 Fake news Founded in 1833, the New York Daily Sun was one of the most recognizable newspapers of the era. What brought the paper to fame was an article about popular astronomer Sir John Herschel’s latest discovery. Stating that the moon was inhabited by furry, winged humanoids and unicorns, the people of the time believed the article to be true. Their reasoning being that the byline stated that an associate of Sir John Herschel, Dr. Andrew Grant had written the article to inform the public of the world beyond. Everyone went into a frenzy and the article became the talk of the town. However, unknown to the public, the article was a work of satire. Many of the Sun’s viewership …show more content…
Despite being written in the context of malicious emails, FactCheck.org has created a list of “Key Characteristics” for “bogus” websites that typically publish fake news. The characteristics include the following: the more popular the articles, the more likely it is false, see if the publisher is credible and is qualified to discuss that topic, check if their facts are correct, and lastly check if there are spelling or grammatical errors. Most of the characteristics discussed are not hard to look out for, and can easily be implemented into everyone’s day to day …show more content…
To expand on this claim two articles, a known fake news website (The Burrard Street Journal) and one from a reputable source (ABC News), will be evaluated about former President Obama’s stance on a then possible Trump Presidency. 1 First, The Burrard Street Journal will be analyzed. According to Snopes.com, a website known for its factcheck, the Burrard article had been shared multiple times on social media, so with that the article is at risk of being false. The Burrard Street Journal when visiting the site has a disclaimer, stating the journal is “satire news, parody and humor website and is for entertainment purposes only.” With that, the publisher is not a credible source, and is not qualified to give “real news.” As much as The Burrard Street Journal meets many of the key characteristics of bogusness, there are some that it fails. For one being that there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Despite not meeting some of the characteristics, The Burrard Street Journal still publishes fake news. Not all fake news sites will meet every characteristic so one should always be wary of them. The impact of Next to be examined is the ABC News article. Written to combat yet another attack by fake news, ABC News explained the complex web of lies created by various news sites. As for the characteristics, the publisher is known to be a very credible source and the writer