How to manage fake news
What is not fake news
Parody is not fake news, as long as it is obvious and funny. Sadly, much of the spontaneous parody is not even funny, so it gets confusing. Then there are posts or articles that are scary because they profess extreme ideas and concepts that would seem to be fake news, or worse, parody, yet are very real. A well-known example is the Project 2025 manifesto in the US, 900 pages so extreme and so removed from reality, that it leaves one wondering if it is real or a bad fantasy novel. It is a plan to take over the government which could have been written by either the extreme right or the extreme left with few changes. The article in The Guardian, written before the presidential election in 2024, is a good read. Then see what Snopes.com says. (links to learn more at the bottom).What about official news?
At times and circumstances, official statements are biased, typically omitting a key element which conflicts with the message, or gymnastic wording to make it look right. But those omissions or odd wording are usually easy to spot in the context of the subject. At least in the west, they are rarely blatantly false as the legal consequences are real. In countries with little or no truly free media, then yes, fake news is business as usual, which is expected, so never taken seriously.
Insidious news pictures
A picture of a CNN, or New York Times headline, often with a photo below the headline, which is fake and may not even be a subject found on their website. While they are usually suspicious because the content is atypical of that news media, they are surprisingly effective as we often see several reposts from either gullible people, or associates of the original poster. These posts are frequently generated by bad actors with graphics resources and a pool of accounts to repost and spread the fake post. When you see that, don't click on it! If you want to check, go directly to that news website and type the title in search. If it is real, it will come up, if only similar titles come up, then it is fake.
How to manage your browsing
Yes, manage your browsing as checking everything is not going to happen, too much time wasted, too much frustration.
- Filter your browsing: As you scroll, there are names you recognize as either reliable and somewhat trustworthy, and other names you have grown suspicious about their posts. Beware, this is not about what you agree with and what you disagree with! Systematically block the suspicious ones, you will never miss them and this will clean up your feed. Then before you add the "good" ones to your favorites or following, do a bit of checking, fact-check some of their statements, and scroll through their posts for consistency. This first step will greatly improve the quality of your feed and make it easier to spot random suspicious posts.
- Fact-check if you care: When you come across a post that is new information, and that is a subject you care about, then go and check it out, regardless whether you agree with it or not, that is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is whether this is true or not. If false, make a mental note of it, because if it is fake, it will likely come up again, and block that poster. Emphasis on if you care, you don't want to waste your time on something unimportant to you, but do erase it from memory so you don't accidentally bring it up to someone as this is a "no-news" item.
- Should you report fake posts? The answer may surprise you. Unless it directly affects you, or is really important to you, don't bother! Why? Because to report properly, you will need to document with links and explanations. Simply saying this is false, or fake news will have no weight. If you don't mind spending the time to do it right, then by all means do report it.
