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What are fake news and 10 tips to avoid them

The internet has many benefits for our daily lives, but it can also be an easy way to spread false information. Fake News is a good example of this as it is fake news on various subjects that is shared almost virally on various social networks. Fortunately, it is not so difficult to recognize what Fake News is and how to avoid it, especially at election time. To get you ready for them, we've put together a list of 10 tips to avoid being fooled by the fearsome Fake News!

What is fake news?

You have heard this expression and should hear it daily, especially since it has already invaded television programs, which are already showing the negative effects of the practice. Name in English for “fake news, ” fake news is self-explanatory: news that is not true, but has a variety of purposes, whether electoral or even to cause panic or the feeling of “doing justice to own hands ”.

The latter practice is especially dangerous as it has been found that WhatsApp currents on people who allegedly committed heinous crimes were unfairly murdered as they had not committed any crimes at all. One of the best known cases happened in India.

At the electoral level, the practice may not cause such a violent reaction, but it can be disastrous, as unscrupulous candidates use this tactic to tarnish the reputation of their rivals.

To help you identify if that message you received from your cousin is a Fake New, we've come up with a complete guide with some steps to avoid being fooled by fake news on the internet, which used in conjunction with the tips below will make it unlikely to be deceived. for this fake news.

1. Check out the news website

It is very important that before you make any conclusions about a news story, you should check out the site on which it was published. It is common to find very simple websites or blogs that are set up just to spread fake news. This first tip is ideal for knowing what fake news is and not being fooled by it.

They often have suspicious ads, poorly designed designs, and links that have nothing to do with the article. If you have a site you have never heard of, be careful.

2. Give preference to credible portals

Following what we talked about in the previous topic, it is really better to trust the sites and portals with good credibility. Of course, supporting and visiting small sites is good, but when it comes to news, it's more complicated.

Big portals have a lot to lose if they post fake news, so it's easier to trust them. Of course, even in these cases you should be better informed if you find the news somewhat suspicious.

3. Read the whole article

Unfortunately, a lot of people don't bother reading the article to find out if it's true or not. In general, you will find people who look at the fake news headline and start commenting on or sharing the topic.

To avoid falling for Fake News, you need to open the news and read the full article. In many cases this is enough to know that something is wrong as you may encounter wrong information or absurd situations. One thing you can also do is print from your PC screen and show someone who understands journalism in your family or circle of friends for them to analyze.

4. Look at the URL

We already mentioned that you should check out news on portals that have good credibility, but you can find some sites posing as others, making it harder to tell fake news and real news. This way, you might find a site that has a design or name that looks like big portals but is doing so just to fool readers.

Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the website URL. There you will see if it really is the site you were thinking about or if it is a simple impostor.

5. See other articles on the site

You may find a well-assembled but suspicious news story. In this case, you can check out other news and articles from the same site, as it may be possible to find a Fake News pattern.

Generally, sites with Fake News have a lot of news with hyped or extremely exaggerated headlines. Other than that, you won't find normal news from recent events either, after all, the site will be more interested in deceiving the public than posting important articles.

6. See if there is a relationship between the title and the article

As we mentioned in the previous topic, it's quite common to see Fake News with hyped up titles. This is especially to get the public's attention and for people to share the article when they are still "shocked" and have not even read the news.

Interestingly, in many of these Fake News, the article itself has little to do with the title. Generally, the title features a distorted version about a small detail of something that happened recently. By reading some of the news, you will already know if this is the case or not.

7. Search the news on the internet

The good thing about having the internet at your disposal is that you can simply search for suspicious news on Google, for example. If the news is true, you will find it on a number of important websites and portals and will be able to separate fake news from what is real.

Otherwise, the only result will be the site you originally viewed it on, and perhaps some other blog that has copied the same text. This makes it much easier to discover and avoid Fake News.

8. Check out the source

No matter what size website you visit, it is always important to check out the source of the news you are reading. If the news is true, there will always be a source, either a link leading you to another site or an interview with someone involved in the story. If you can't find anything to prove the truth of the news or the source, you can bet it's Fake News.

9. Check for Grammatical Errors

Those who write seriously and professionally will always do their best to ensure that their texts are impeccable. This means that if you find many grammatical or spelling errors in the news, you can already suspect the site or its author. Lack of commitment to grammar is one of the main signs of identifying fake news.

10. Don't trust links shared by friends and family.

Whether you like it or not, you can't believe everything people share on their social networks, even if they are friends or family. In many cases, they may be uninformed and unaware that they have come across Fake News, as we mentioned earlier. That's why it's best to avoid relying on links you end up getting on WhatsApp or even Facebook. This is also a great way to avoid falling for scams and protecting your WhatsApp from fraud or intrusion attempts.