Ah, the internet. It’s revolutionized the way we receive our news, and the speed at which our news is reported to us. Yet, it complicates the process at times.
Anyone can start their own website and post updates. And some Internet developers are talented at making fake news sites look real. In our browsers, our social media sites, and home pages, we are inundated with news stories from all sorts of sources. We get important information, but also lots of misinformation. Think of all the stories you’ve read about Ebola. How do you determine what’s real and what’s not?
These times call for us to be discerning consumers of the media. But how?
First, we should read several news outlets before decide we understand what’s happening on a particular story. Some news outlets may not a thorough job of reporting a story. Others may be biased toward a certain political party. Some outlets may be satire disguised as reality. Just as journalists can rarely report and accurate and fair story by only talking to one source, news consumers shouldn’t assume one outlet can tell them everything they need to know.
Second, know the credibility of the outlet you are reading before you buy into what is being reported. In September, the National Report reported that Facebook would begin charging users $2.99 per month as of Nov. 1. People began commenting in anger, sharing the link on their page and announcing that they were quitting Facebook.
If they’d have done their research, they would have known the National Report is a satire news site.
The rumors about Facebook starting to charge users began in December 2009, according to snopes.com. The National Report was mocking these rumors, and in doing so, started a myth of their own.
So, do yourself a favor and don’t take the National Report seriously. The Onion is also another site intended for satire, in case you’re still confused.
It may be impossible to identify every outlet as credible or not. Some outlets just don’t provide enough information. But if the story is circulated widely enough, you may have resources.
As we mentioned above, snopes.com is a good place to go if you ever doubt the credibility if a widely-spread story on the internet. The site is run by two professional researchers, Barbara and David Mikkelson, who research internet myths, urban legends and more. On their site, they post whether a myth is true, false or in between. Then, they provide their researched information.
When a site called Bibo Buzz posted that NASA announced that during three days this December, the Earth will go dark, we thought that sounded hokey. We turned to snopes.com and found out that it was indeed a myth. We also found out, to our relief, that our favorite Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes don’t contain “numerous toxins” like the Internet said they do. Now we sip in peace.
There’s a lot of misinformation on the Internet, but also the resources to sift through it all. Don’t blindly accept everything you read. Look it up first. Then, enjoy a good laugh at the satire.
