13. CONSIDERTHESE “FAKE NEWS CLUES”:
•It can’t be verified
•It’s heavily biased
•It appeals to your emotions
•The author isn’t an expert
•It comes from a fake
website
Today we’re going to talk about how you approach your search for information. You might feel like you’re drowning in information sometimes, because there’s JUST SO MUCH out there. We can sort through it and get rid of what you don’t need.
Imagine that you won an Instagram contest from Zappos. They’re going to send you to SneakerCon and they’re letting you pick ANY PAIR of sneakers, at any price, to wear, but you only have ONE MINUTE to decide. Go to Zappos.com and find them fast! I’m timing you!
60 seconds of search time. There is audio, so turn off the speakers if you don’t want it.
Have students go to Zappos.com. What do you do then? They might start with some keyword search (sneakers, Nike, etc.), they might click right on Sneakers & Athletic Shoes. Let them walk you through using the limiters.
You don’t search for women’s size 8 ½ Vans and expect it to get what you need.
Here’s a challenge. Raise your hand once you’ve found info about journalistic ethics published in the last 5 years in academic journals.
You can easily get that information by applying the right limiters. Change the Publication Date limiter to 2012-2017 and click “academic journals” under source type.
Luckily you have more than 60 seconds to find the books, articles, videos and more that you need when you’re searching LibraryEngine. But if you use the limiters, you can make your search much faster and more effective.
Find this news article online. What makes it seem credible? What makes it seem fake?
Can you find a source for this quote? Does Dr. Robert Roland, biology and solar energy expert exist?
Does this seem biased at all? Can you verify this information?
What do we know about the author of this article? (He sure specializes in… everything!) About realnewsrightnow.com? If it has to say REAL NEWS in the title, does that make it seem real or fake?
The ability to tell accurate news from fake news is an important skill that you'll use for the rest of your life. President Trump has tweeted about “fake news” 20 times (as of 2/28)! It obviously matters to him, it matters to our First Amendment, and it matters because it effects your ability to be informed.