Truth or fiction? This guide to identify fake news will help you know

Although the false news has accompanied Journalism from the origins of the profession, the truth is that the popularization of the Internet and its characteristics-which gave anyone the possibility of publishing online-resulted in a greater proliferation of this type of stories.A supposed information not only derived from the so-called journalistic routines , but also the result of partisanship and other less noble intentions.

A situation that, after the subject of the trending topics of Facebook, has returned to jump to the informative arena, because what happens when the selection of articles is carried out by an algorithm? How can we discern if what is collected is reliable? And ultimately: What should we look at to identify fake news ?

The starting point

To begin, it is essential to contextualize the issue And, in May of last year, a former employee of the aforementioned social network publicly denounced that the company had been pressing to eliminate from the highlighted issues , those who exalted conservative policies.At that time this selection was carried out through an algorithm but it was "polished" by a human team.

A partisanship and manipulation that Zuckerberg soon denied; I even affirmed that it would establish additional controls and improve its management to avoid risks.A few weeks later, however, I dismissed the workers of this section and left it in the hands of an artificial intelligence that, since then, has not finished hitting.

In fact, this is where the issue of fake news comes into play, because precisely what this AI did was to spread some of them, to such an extent that, after the US elections, there have been many who have accused her to skew the results.I saw the picture, how not to ask if there is a way to detect them to avoid such influences?

Reliability of sources

So, one of the first questions that we must assess is the origin of the information , the platform on which we find it.If it is an unknown, a third-party blog, we will be suspicious .It can also happen that, simply, is not familiar to us but that has great professionals behind it and, even, with a prestigious media group that endorses it.

In this case, it would not be too much to investigate about it in commercial registers, inquire on the website itself for links, etc.Fortunately, there will always be the traditional means, usually more reliable but not infallible .

In fact, there are tremendously known but do not doubt or a whit when it comes to spreading leaks with headlines that indicate absolute veracity, sensational data and so on.All for looking for the click and the attention call. In the English press found great examples like The Sun, one of the most read in the United Kingdom but sown with large doses of yellowness.

When we talk about reliability of sources, we are also referring to from where we obtained the link in question .That is, this can not only come from Facebook, but have been propagated through Instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp, email and the like.In these cases it is always best to go outside.

Finally, the presence of personal sources, that is, of experts who provide information and expert data to the news, that help it contextualize and explain it, is also very important.variety, works and links we find directed from the article itself, so much the better.

Contrast the information

Contrast the information is key when granting truth to a news .some occasions, in fact, we can even do it first hand, especially if it's local or technological issues; however, we do not do it for pure comfort.A laziness that even extends to some journalists who simply decide to replicate what other media say.

Let's go with a simple example: we get up in the morning and read that the subway lines are totally collapsed, that there has been an accident or any similar information.Why not call a partner who is already at work and Do you use public transportation to check it out? A real case that serves to illustrate it took place about nine months ago, on the occasion of a metro strike in Barcelona.

It was then that some Twitter users began to disseminate a manipulated image that showed a panel with accusatory messages, in protest and with direct allusions to politicians and managers.However, it was of a real fake.

​​total suport to the #vagatransport d'avui to # Barcelona.com diu @TMB_Barcelona nosaltres pursim indications of the screen pic.twitter.com/6eLR8ZlTKo

-Fotomovimiento (@Fotomovimiento) April 26, 2016

Regarding technological news, we often read that a specific service has stopped working, which has launched new and curious benefits , which is going to merge with another...Fortunately, most of them are easy to check.To exemplify it we will focus on a news on Twitter that was repeated at the end of the year and that began to spread in May.

What was said was that the microblogging network had launched a new tool to know who visited our profile, however, it was a full-fledged scam , which even came to request our telephone number and accessed our account to publish on our behalf.

Of course, on all occasions we do not have the opportunity to verify what is said at first hand.Any more reason to go to another medium.And if it moves away from the ideology of the newspaper that we usually consult, so much the better.The idea is to have several points of view to be able to make a composition of the right place.

Here, however, we have to refer to the criticisms that are made to the automatic selection of Facebook, which are directed not so much by highlighting certain information, but to the fact of hiding others.In any case, the truth is that the general public will always tend to look for those that fit their way of thinking, with few exceptions .Or has anyone thought that a reader of La Razon will start buying El Pais a good day to avoid being influenced?

The links

Another aspect that can help us identify the Fake news is the links but, above all, the absence of them.Yes, if we find a website where a study is mentioned, the opinion of an expert and the like but a link to the source is not included, we will be suspicious and look for additional information.

In the event that if you do, we will always go to the original.For example, if the article says, for example, that according to The New York Times such a thing has happened, we will go directly there.Basic result to know how it has the editor interpreted the information that has come to us and also to know how to understand it in all its breadth .

But why is it so important? We explain ourselves.For example, we read a story about a new study that indicates that using social networks is beneficial for health, improves communication and so on.What would we question if we knew that it was made by Facebook itself?

The language

The way it is written , the terms and language used can give us some clues about whether it is falsehoods.Even the structure influences.The idea is to have one of inverted pyramid , that is, that the most important information is at the top and that, as progress is made, more details are given.

The unnecessary adjectives, the colloquial words in excess, and the use of personal pronouns, opinions and first persons of the singular should make us suspicious unless it is a column or a genre that allows them.Unfortunately, the limit on the network is not as concrete as in other media such as television, radio or the written press.

At this point it should also be noted that, although the dissemination of a story could be attributed to the interest that arouses its content, it does not always occur for this reason.On occasions a holder with a hook is enough , appropriate for the occasion, so that it begins to circulate on social networks and be shared in a massive way, because who has not received a totally outdated but already present on the wall of many friends?

The images

The images, photographs and infographics that accompany it The article can also be revealing.Here it is possible to assess from manipulations and editions made through specific programs to the age of the same, the situation and moment to which they correspond and a long etcetera that we imagine without difficulty.

Take the case, for example, that you want to discredit a certain candidate for breaching the dress protocol in a recent act.However, and since this has not happened, there are no images that illustrate it. opts for another file from last year in which the politician is in a completely different act.

Fortunately, there is a key method to not be fooled: find the photo in question through the specific search engine of Mountain View. Just go to Google Images and look for the suspicious photo by the URL.In case of finding an identical or similar in another medium but published several years ago, we should be aware.

The case of publicity reports

Apart from fake news, also it is possible to refer to the publirreportajes and to the sponsored content.And although the Law establishes that advertising should be correctly identified, this does not always happen.With the sponsored content the same thing happens.Read like a story and it seems like a story...well, it may not be.In any case, checking who is behind each page is an important step.

In addition, there are some characteristic features that show this type of articles: the absence of competing brands from the same sector, the lack of external sources and links, the mention of own studies.

We must also take into account the case of the influencers who, although a few years ago acted as a kind of vigilantes or whatchdogs , have become minions of the brands.Some of them charge up to 45,000 euros for tweeting the virtues of certain products.A matter more complicated to detect , because we ignore if the recommendation of the blogger is influenced by a substantial amount of money or simply liked the product.

Technology

Finally, the technology itself offers us several tools that carry out some of the above processes practically automatically.This is the case of BS Detector, a product born after the controversy that binds us and an extension for Chrome that tries to identify those news Fake online.Specifically what it does is find those Facebook articles that come from a questionable source .The warning appears when users scroll over the article in question.

At the end of December, the University of Indiana (States United) also developed a specific fake news search engine that already has more than 130 specific websites.A motor called Hoaxy that, although it is in the testing phase, will continue to increase its database on the march.It also includes statistics on news of this type that are most shared through social networks.

In any case and analyzed some of the key points that we should take into account to identify falsehoods and avoid biases, the truth is that the basic thing will be to show us criticism with what we read, stockpile skepticism and common sense and, ultimately , don't believe together what is published on any site.

Images | Pixabay