How to spot fake news

Separate the facts from the fiction with our quick checklist

Source

Investigate the site; look for its mission and contact information.

URL

Does the URL look legitimate? Search the domain name to identify if there are multiple sites with similar URLs.

Date

News stories may be reposted, making them irrelevant to current events.

Author

Search the author’s name. Are they real? What have they written previously?

Similar stories

Has the story been reported by other credible news sources?

Content

Read past the headline — is the content satire or serious. Are the interviewees real?

Images

Are the pictures in the story real or edited? Reverse search the images and see where else they have been used.

Bias

Do your own views or opinions affect your judgment on the stories validity?