Learn about misinformation and how to avoid it with some fact-checking strategies. Strategies from Mike Caufield's "Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers."

1. Is It Fact or Fake News?
Finding truth in the age of misinformation and propaganda

2. Research Guide
https://researchguides.csuohio.edu/
misinformation

3. What is UP with fake news?

4. Some Definitions
Fake news =
● What are the definitions of “fake news” that
you have encountered?

5. Some Definitions
Fake news =
● Authentic content moved to a misleading context
● Imposter sources designed to look like reliable sources we already
know
● Clickbait
● False information meant to stir outrage (often partisan)
● News I don't like
● Parody or satire
● More?

6. Some Definitions
Misinformation = inaccurate
information that is spread
intentionally or unintentionally
Disinformation = intentionally
inaccurate information meant to
deceive

7. Some Definitions
Claire Wardle, FirstDraft

8. Some Definitions
Fact =
● something that is generally not disputed
● by people in a position to know
● by those who can be relied on to accurately tell the truth (Digipo)
Truth =
● Being in accord with fact or reality
● Not in discord with other true things
● Other options ...

9. Fact-Checkable Claims
● Is the claim verifiable?
● Does it claim causation?
● Is it an opinion or
preference?

10. Fact-Checkable Claims
Is the claim fact-checkable?
“The unemployment rate has decreased by two points in
the four months since I became President."

11. Fact-Checkable Claims
Is the claim fact-checkable?
“The private sector’s confidence in my government has led
to a 2-point decrease in the unemployment figures.”

12. Fact-Checkable Claims
Is the claim fact-checkable?
“Without my government, we wouldn’t have seen
unemployment fall by two points.”

13. Flaws in Our Thinking

14. Types of Bias
● Bias: “a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against
something or someone” (Psychology Today)
● Explicit bias: deliberately held beliefs about a person or
group
● Implicit bias: beliefs about others or ideas that are outside of
our conscious awareness

15. Confirmation Bias

16. Types of Bias
● Confirmation bias: seeking information to confirm our beliefs;
often called motivated reasoning
● A method of reducing cognitive dissonance (mental
discomfort we feel when confronted with conflicting
information)

17. Committing to Facts

18. So Why
Does it
Matter?What do you think?

19. Pro-Truth Pledge
https://www.protruthpledge.org/

20. Fact-Checking Strategies

21. Four Moves and a Habit

22. An Example

23. 1) Check for previous work

24. 1) Check for previous work

25. 1) Check for previous work
Search terms site:snopes.com site:politifact.com

26. 1) Check for previous work
Search terms site:snopes.com site:politifact.com

27. 2) Go upstream to the source.

28. 2) Go upstream to the source.
https://www.designb
oom.com/design/pla
stic-pollution-kills-wh
ale-03-10-2018/

29. 3) Read laterally.

30. 3) Read laterally.
Process
● Reputation for accuracy
● Issue corrections
● Peer review (for scholarly publications)

31. 3) Read laterally.
Expertise
● Credentials
● Education
● Professional experience

32. 3) Read laterally.
Aim
● What incentives are in place for this source to get the
facts right?
○ Consider authorial intent, business model,
reputational incentives, history, etc.

33. 3) Read laterally.
worlddailynewsreport.com -site:worlddailynewsreport.com

34. 4) Circle back.

35. Habit: Check Your Emotions

36. Let’s Practice!

37. Revisiting Our Example ...
Posted by America’s Last Line of Defence

38. Practice
Fact check these claims:
● LaCroix sparkling water contains insecticides.
● Administrator Adam Brett of Jefferson County, Georgia halted a bus after it had
left a county-run senior center to take black voters to cast ballots on the first day
of early voting.
● Congressional Democrats voted against a 2.8 percent increase in Social Security
benefits scheduled to take effect in January.
● Canada generated enough tax revenue from the first day of legal marijuana sales
to pay off its entire national debt.

39. Practice
● Options:
○ Play factitious, “a game that tests your news sense”
■ http://factitious.augamestudio.com/#/
○ Play Fakey, a game that tests your ability to find fake news
■ https://fakey.iuni.iu.edu/
○ Use Fake or Foto to test your ability to recognize digitally altered
photos
■ https://area.autodesk.com/fakeorfoto/

40. You did it!

41. Questions?
Comments?
Mandi Goodsett, CSU Librarian
a.goodsett@csuohio.edu