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Fake News

How to identify and avoid Fake News

Fake news is...

undefined   'false stories that appear to be news, spread on the 
       internet or using other media, usually created to influence 
    
political views or as a joke.......also known as 'junk news',
    'pseudo news' or hoax news....'

                                                                                                   (Cambridge Online Dictionary, 2020)     
 
 
 
 
 
 
                (Salgado, 2016)
 

(Rappler.com, 2017)

3 types of fake news

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(Rubin, Chen and Conroy, 2015)

What the journalists say...

'There has always been fake news − ever since people realized the power of the media to influence public opinion. However, the difference today is that social media and platforms like Google and Facebook enable fake news to spread widely and more quickly than ever before, and that is the problem'. 
Ivor Gaber, Professor of Journalism, University of Sussex, UK.
 

'Fake news poisons the atmosphere that we all operate in. Because fake news exists, audiences are now doubtful about all news. It has really damaged the relationship between audience members and the media'. 
Verashni Pillay, Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post, South Africa
 

'All this talk about fake news is affecting media audiences, because there is an insecurity about what is true and what is not. As professional journalists, we need to go back to what we do best – we do fact-checking, demand answers, and are transparent about our (news-gathering) methods'. 
Ginna Lindberg, Head, Foreign News, Swedish Broadcasting, Sweden
 

'The point of fake news is not to tell another narrative, the main aim of fake news is to dismantle the credibility of institutions, including journalism, but not only journalism'. 
Kari Huhta, Diplomatic Editor, Helsingin Sanomat, Finland 

(The UNESCO Courier, 2017)

The Library, Technological University of the Shannon: Midwest