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Kreitzberg Library for CGCS Students

Identify Fake News and Evaluate News Sources

The Real Truth About Fake News

Have you heard that President Trump is removing the Marines from the Navy? Or that Target will no longer sell copies of the Bible? Or that Lance Armstrong has died? If so, you've had an encounter with fake news.

The bad news is that fake news is everywhere, constantly competing for your clicks. The worse news is that a recent study done by Stanford University showed that students display a "stunning and dismaying consistency" in their inability pick out fake news from real news. 

The good news is that you can cultivate strong information evaluation skills with critical thinking and a little practice.

The resources in this guide will help explain what fake news is, give tips on how to spot fake news online, and even provide a few practice exercises so that you can try out your evaluation skills for yourself.

How Fake News Works