What is fake news?

Thousands of fake news stories are being shared online and sometimes it's tricky to know if the story is real or not.

There's so much fake news online that Google and Facebook are starting to actively crack down on publishers of false or misleading news.

So - what is Fake News?

Did you know - There are two kinds of fake news:

1. False stories that are deliberately published or sent around, in order to make people believe something untrue or to get lots of people to visit a website. These stories may also contain some real facts and some made-up information. This make the story much more believable.
2. Stories that may have some truth to them, but they're not completely accurate. This is because the people writing them - for example, journalists or bloggers - don't check all of the facts before publishing the story.

Think about it for a minute !

Now that we have social media, it is much easier for these stories to spread quickly, which can be a problem. It is also easier than it used to be to edit photos, and create fake websites and stories that look realistic.

The thing is .....

Sometimes, fake news can influence the way you think and the decisions you make!

Every time you go online, people are competing for your attention. Friends, strangers, businesses, political organisations, charities and news websites all serve up a constant stream of eye-catching pictures, videos and articles, wherever you might go looking for information – Google, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or YouTube.

But in the race to catch your eye, not all of these players feel like they have to tell the truth – and you can’t always rely on. The result is fake news: stories that are specially designed to mislead or deliberately misinform people.

Here are a few basic questions to consider whenever you think you encounter a fake news story.

• Who made this?
• Who is the target audience?
• Who paid for this? Or, who gets paid if you click on this?
• Who might benefit or be harmed by this message?
• What is left out of this message that might be important?
• Is this credible (and what makes you think that)?