Mass Communications Assignment

Questions for Fake News Detection

Directions: Answer Yes or No to the questions below to assess the likelihood that a piece of information is fake news. In Section 1, add 1 point for each No answer, meaning you should be skeptical of the information. In Section 2, add 1 point for each Yes answer, meaning you should be more skeptical. Total your points. The higher the total, the more skeptical you should be.

Section 1: Add 0 points for Yes and 1 point for No.

1. Is the source well-known, such as a reputable news outlet? 2. Is there a byline (an author’s name) attached to the piece? 3. Does the person or organization that produced the information state any editorial

standards? 4. Does the “contact us” section include an email address that matches the domain

(not a gmail or yahoo email address)? 5. Does the example you are evaluating have a current date on it? 6. Does the example cite a variety of sources, including named official and expert

sources? 7. Does the information in this example appear in reports from other news outlets? 8. Does the example hyperlink to other quality sources?

Section 2: Add 1 point for Yes and 0 points for No.

1. Gauge your emotional reaction: Is it strong? Are you angry? 2. Does the headline use excessive punctuation (!!) or ALL CAPS for emphasis? 3. Does the headline make a claim about containing a secret or telling you something

that “the media” doesn’t want you to know? 4. Is the information designed for easy sharing, like a meme? 5. Go to the website’s “About” section: Does the site describe itself as a “fantasy news”

or “satirical news” site? 6. Does a quick search for the name of the website raise any suspicions? 7. Has the information been altered or taken out of context from another source? 8. If you search for this example on a fact-checking site such as snopes.com,

FactCheck.org or PolitiFact.com, is there a fact-check that labels it as less than true?

Source: Based on a checklist from the News Literacy Project online, published in “Communication: Journalism Education Today,” Spring 2018.