Fake News: Check your own claim!

The ability to tell accurate news from fake news is an important skill that you'll use for the rest of your life. This LibGuide will give you valuable insight in telling fact from fiction online, plus a chance to exercise your newfound skills.

Practice makes perfect

Use the tips throughout this LibGuide to check your own claim, or use one of the claims listed below for practice. Remember, fake news articles may fall under multiple categories and might even mix in a few facts amid their falsehoods.

Select a claim to examine

Food Babe: How Food Companies Exploit Americans
This article claims that US consumers ingest chemicals that people in other countries don't. Is that true? What else does this article imply?
NPR: Man pulls 5 1/2 foot long tapeworm out of his body
Eeeyew, gross! But is it fact or fake?
Spoon University: Drinking Tequila Could Help You Lose Weight
Can you find enough evidence to prove or disprove this claim?
NaturalNews: Field of Pigs to be Bred in Matrix-Like Factories for Human Organ Harvesting
Wow. Just... wow. Want to check this claim out?
Getting to the Root of Acne
Up for the challenge of proving or disproving this one?
Newser: Guy Whose Property Was Being Seized Left Crazy Booby Traps
Is this a likely story? You decide!

Other tips for fact checking and avoiding fake news

When you open up a news article in your browser, open a second, empty tab. Use that second window to look up claims, author credentials and organizations that you come across in the article.
Fake news spans across all kinds of media - printed and online articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, radio shows, even still images. Be prepared to double-check everything.
Beware of confirmation bias. Just because you might agree with what an article is saying doesn't mean it's true.
As Mad-Eye Moody said in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, "Constant Vigilance!" Always be ready to fact check.
Even the best researchers will be fooled once in a while. If you find yourself fooled by a fake news story, use your experience as a learning tool.