In times of crisis, finding reliable and accurate information is crucial. But as Brian X. Chen of The New York Times reports, misinformation on the web comes in many forms. This makes finding accurate information about the pandemic extra challenging.
Social media sites are a major contributor to the spread of misinformation, because anyone can post something that looks like a legitimate news article but is actually from a bogus source.
Many fake news articles, fortunately, can be easy to spot. Here are some telltale signs:
A shady URL: Fake news sites sometimes use legitimate brand names, but their domain names may end with “.com.co,” “.ma” or “.co.” ABCNews.com.co, now a defunct site, was a famous example.
Grammatical errors: Fake news writers aren't exactly wordsmiths, so one big giveaway is the number of typos and grammatical errors that make it into their stories.
Unverifiable information: If an article’s information were legitimately outrageous, plenty of other news outlets would have written about it, too. When in doubt, do a Google search to check if trustworthy publications have reported the same information.
For more information about the spread of disinformation, read this article.
