Fake News, Fact-checking, and Bias
Notice:
As a community college library, we are NOT a fact-checking service. Through this guide, TCC librarians provide instruction, resources, and tips for our students, and for others to practice their own skills in fact-checking, evaluating sources, and detecting media bias.
Fake News, Fact-checking, and Bias
Image source: "Truth and knowledge" wordle by GDJ is in the public domain
Defining Some Important Terms
Post-Truth
The word "post-truth" is defined by the Oxford Dictionaries as "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."
Fake News
Fake news websites, as defined in Wikipedia, deliberately publish hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news — often using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect. Unlike news satire, fake news websites seek to mislead, rather than entertain, readers for financial, political, or other gain. (See the next tab about news satire.)
Also known as: hoax news
- Satire vs. Fake News"Satire uses fiction or humour to point to a larger social or political truth. It only works if you know it’s made up. Fake news operates under the guise of credible journalism to convince you of a falsehood – usually for political or monetary gain. It only works when you don’t know it’s a lie" (Anderson, 2020).
Video: Real news vs. fake news (3:19 minutes)
video: "Real news vs. Fake news" by University of Louisville University Library. Standard YouTube license applies.
News Satire
News satire, also called "satirical news," as defined in Wikipedia, is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called satire because of its content.
The difference between "fake news" and "news satire" - short version:
- News satire is intended to be read as "fake", or for entertainment; the creator(s) is using humor to call attention to a social or political reality. In addition, satire does something described colloquially in the U.S. as "punching up": Classically defined, satire uses humor to lampoon those who hold the power in the satirized situation.
- Fake news, however, intends to deceive, to lead the reader to believe the misinformation. If humor is applied, it often "punches down", or lampoons those who do not hold the power in the situation. By definition, this cannot be satire.
- Satire vs. Fake News"Satire uses fiction or humour to point to a larger social or political truth. It only works if you know it’s made up. Fake news operates under the guise of credible journalism to convince you of a falsehood – usually for political or monetary gain. It only works when you don’t know it’s a lie" (Anderson, 2020).
Example of two well-known satire sites:
- The OnionBegan as a weekly print publication in 1988, The Onion went digital in 1996.
- The Borowitz ReportNews satire column in the New York Times, written by Andy Borowitz.
Clickbait
ClickbaitAs defined by the Urban Dictionary, clickbait is "An eyecatching link on a website which encourages people to read on. It is often paid for by the advertiser ("Paid" click bait) or generates income based on the number of clicks."
Explore more about clickbait:
- 7 Elements Of A Clickbait TitleIncludes info, examples, and charts highlighting the most common factors of a clickbait title
- It's Everywhere, the Clickbait - The AtlanticMore in-depth exploration into clickbait from The Atlantic.
Image source: "mouse-cursor-hand-finger-click-1626473" by janjf93 is in the Public Domain, CC0
Media Bias
"Media bias," as defined in Wikipedia, is the bias -- or perceived bias -- of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.
For example, if people describe Fox News as "conservative" or The New York Times as "liberal," they are reflecting this concept of "media bias."
How can you detect media bias?
Go to the "How to Check for Facts, Bias, and Fake News" page of this guide and click on the "Sites for Checking... Media Bias" content box on the left column of that page to help you assess, or detect, a specific media publication's bias.
Confirmation Bias
"Confirmation bias" is a type of selective thinking or researching and the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.
- What are Confirmation Bias Examples?"Confirmation bias is the tendency for people to selectively search for and consider information that confirms already held beliefs. People also tend to reject evidence that contradicts their opinions." This page has some examples of confirmation bias.
Truthiness
As defined in Merriam-Webster, truthiness is "Believing something is true from the gut, or inside. Using life experiences of learnings to make something seem true."
This term has been around awhile. In fact, "truthiness" was Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Year" in 2006!
Media Literacy
As defined by the Media Literacy Project, "media literacy" is "the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. Media literate youth and adults are better able to understand the complex messages we receive from television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, video games, music, and all other forms of media."
Related keywords and concepts: digital literacy, information literacy, information fluency
This guide contains resources and structural organization derived, with permission, from the "How to Evaluate News Sources" LibGuide by Stephanie Debner, Mt. Hood Community College Library. Except where otherwise noted, the content in this guide is licensed under a CC Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 license.
Note: This guide was reviewed in May 2024. See errors? Have feedback or suggestions? Use the "Get Help" tab to contact us to let us know!
Scientific American: Special issue: Confronting Misinformation
- Confronting MisinformationThis is a special issue of Scientific American, "Confronting Misinformation". TCC Library has an online subscription to Scientific American. Go to the Library Website, click on the Research Databases TAB, and Find Scientific American. November 2020, Issue 5.
This link will take you directly to the entire issue. The special section begins on page 28 of the issue (page 30 of the PDF). If you are not already logged in to MyTCC, you will be directed to do so.
The psychology of fake news: Accepting, sharing, and correcting misinformationCall Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2020From Taylor & Francis's Open Access Book Collection. "This volume examines the phenomenon of fake news by bringing together leading experts from different fields within psychology and related areas. Provides guidance on how to handle misinformation in an age of "alternative facts," this is a fascinating and vital reading for students in psychology, communication, and political science." Online and PDF formats. CC BY NC ND (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives) license.
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