This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/debunk-fake-news-election-day.html
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| How to Debunk Fake News on Election Day. Help Us Along the Way! | How to Debunk Fake News on Election Day. Help Us Along the Way! |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Fake stories and memes that crop up during live news events have been a problem on social media for years, but a wild election season has highlighted the news media’s slow response in stemming the flow of nonsense. | Fake stories and memes that crop up during live news events have been a problem on social media for years, but a wild election season has highlighted the news media’s slow response in stemming the flow of nonsense. |
| Hoaxes often gurgle up from the bowels of Facebook, as shares from sites that claim to mix satire with the truth, like The Rightists, or sites that don’t seem to exist for any particular reason but to fool people, like one called The Denver Guardian. | Hoaxes often gurgle up from the bowels of Facebook, as shares from sites that claim to mix satire with the truth, like The Rightists, or sites that don’t seem to exist for any particular reason but to fool people, like one called The Denver Guardian. |
| • On Saturday, that site claimed that an F.B.I. agent connected to Hillary Clinton’s email disclosures had murdered his wife and shot himself. The story was fabricated, and The Denver Post published a detailed report explaining that The Denver Guardian was a hoax. | • On Saturday, that site claimed that an F.B.I. agent connected to Hillary Clinton’s email disclosures had murdered his wife and shot himself. The story was fabricated, and The Denver Post published a detailed report explaining that The Denver Guardian was a hoax. |
| • The Bangor Daily News reports that were fliers left on the campus of Bates College, in Maine, telling students that if they wanted to vote in Lewiston, they would have to pay to change their driver’s licenses and re-register any vehicle in the city. These sorts of hoaxes are common on college campuses. | |
| Other falsehoods are spread by seemingly well-meaning entities — corporate accounts and misinformed individuals — who trumpet claims that turn out not to be true. | Other falsehoods are spread by seemingly well-meaning entities — corporate accounts and misinformed individuals — who trumpet claims that turn out not to be true. |
| • One example: Urban Outfitters on Monday tweeted an Election Day guide that contained wrong information, telling voters that they needed a “voter’s registration card” along with their identification to vote. There is not a single state that requires such a card. | • One example: Urban Outfitters on Monday tweeted an Election Day guide that contained wrong information, telling voters that they needed a “voter’s registration card” along with their identification to vote. There is not a single state that requires such a card. |
| The retailer has since corrected its guide. | The retailer has since corrected its guide. |
| On Election Day, we’re hoping that you can help us keep a running list of stories like these, from news articles on fake websites, to tweets that misdirect readers. We’ll be checking social media as well as Snopes and BuzzFeed, two operations that vigilantly debunk fake news sites, as we go, but we’re hoping you can help. | On Election Day, we’re hoping that you can help us keep a running list of stories like these, from news articles on fake websites, to tweets that misdirect readers. We’ll be checking social media as well as Snopes and BuzzFeed, two operations that vigilantly debunk fake news sites, as we go, but we’re hoping you can help. |
| First, a note: A growing tendency to dive into our own echo chambers and construct our personal versions of the truth on social media has been destructive to the ability to call out misinformation online. A post that contains an opinion you disagree with isn’t necessarily “fake” or “inaccurate.” We’re looking for stories that seem designed to misinform the reader, like the example cited by The Denver Post. | First, a note: A growing tendency to dive into our own echo chambers and construct our personal versions of the truth on social media has been destructive to the ability to call out misinformation online. A post that contains an opinion you disagree with isn’t necessarily “fake” or “inaccurate.” We’re looking for stories that seem designed to misinform the reader, like the example cited by The Denver Post. |
| Here’s a quick primer for spotting fake news: | Here’s a quick primer for spotting fake news: |
| • Check the account history of the source. One red flag is usually the number of posts and the span of time the account has been active. Is the story one of 50 coming from a Facebook account that was created just last week? It warrants a deeper look. | • Check the account history of the source. One red flag is usually the number of posts and the span of time the account has been active. Is the story one of 50 coming from a Facebook account that was created just last week? It warrants a deeper look. |
| • Images are often reused from one live event to another to deceive people. Do a reverse-image search with a service like TinEye. The site should tell you if the photo has been used elsewhere. | • Images are often reused from one live event to another to deceive people. Do a reverse-image search with a service like TinEye. The site should tell you if the photo has been used elsewhere. |
| • Check for context. Distortion is a powerful tactic used by sites designed to mislead the public. Images, videos and text snippets will be chopped, twisted and stuffed into a new headline to fit an inflammatory new narrative. | • Check for context. Distortion is a powerful tactic used by sites designed to mislead the public. Images, videos and text snippets will be chopped, twisted and stuffed into a new headline to fit an inflammatory new narrative. |
| In one example cited in a recent BuzzFeed study, a site called Freedom Daily wrote fake details around a months-old video to make it seem like two white men had been beaten and set on fire by supporters of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The story was, in fact, a dispute between two co-workers, and BuzzFeed found that it had nothing to do with racially motivated violence. | In one example cited in a recent BuzzFeed study, a site called Freedom Daily wrote fake details around a months-old video to make it seem like two white men had been beaten and set on fire by supporters of the Black Lives Matter Movement. The story was, in fact, a dispute between two co-workers, and BuzzFeed found that it had nothing to do with racially motivated violence. |
| But it got a lot of shares. | But it got a lot of shares. |