Fact or fiction? Which of these do you use when you need to get information? Which do you tend to trust? Why? ■■ the internet ■■ magazines ■■ customer reviews ■■ advertisements ■■ newspapers ■■ online encyclopedias Discuss your habits with a partner. Talk about these questions with your partner. Report your findings in class. 1 What do you think about this statement: “I read it on the internet, so it must be true.” 2 What do you think ‘fake news’ is? Read the article and answer the questions. 1 What is the problem with Wikipedia? 4 How do I know if a URL is credible? 2 What media do people generally trust most? Why do you think it is like this? 5 6 How can photos tell us if a website is reliable? What do you think is the writer’s opinion on how 3 What is fake news and why is it published? to deal with online stories? Speaking 9 a b Reading 10 Can you believe what you read? Today, anyone can write a blog or an online article or produce a podcast. And instead of printed encyclopaedias – completely obsolete by now – there are free online encyclopaedias that can literally be edited by anybody. Who does not know Wikipedia, where you can post or change an entry? It has become an extremely popular way to do research. But is it a good place to get reliable facts? In recent years many people have found that such websites contain inaccurate data. So, there are controversial views on websites like Wikipedia. Some people praise it as an up-to-date and free source of information, others criticise the age of the internet and say there has never been a worse time to get reliable information. So, is it a better idea to place our trust in what we read in magazines, newspapers and books? Words have always had the power to influence people and, rightly or wrongly, we tend to trust the printed word. But in an age where the term ‘fake news’ keeps appearing everywhere, printed media cannot be trusted either. They also contain made-up stories or scandals. How should we know what to believe? What is fake and what is true? First of all, you need to understand what ‘fake news’ is. The Cambridge Dictionary offers this definition: “Fake news: false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke.” Sometimes people simply spread false stories for fun. A so-called hoax, or spoof, is often sensationalist and intends to increase the author’s readership. Such articles can be misleading. There are, however, some tips to help you find out if a site is true or fake. Ask the five W-questions for spotting fake websites. – Where does the information come from? Look at the URL and see if their endings are credible, like .com, .org, .gov, .net, or .edu. Fake websites often have names similar to the authentic sites, with only one letter being different, so look carefully. – When was the information put online? Fake news may have a date that does not exist, like 32 December. Also, don’t trust information that is still declared as ‘news’, even if it was published years ago. – Who wrote the text or took the photo? Real information always states the author. Carefully look at photos as they could have been photoshopped. Do a reverse online image search to find out if the same photo has been used for different news. – What does the website look like? If the text is sensational or does not have an “About us” section or show contact information, it is usually fake. Grammar mistakes also point towards unreliable information. – How do we know for sure that it’s true? Doublecheck the information. Is it realistic or too good to be true? Real information should be published in more media, so see if you can find the same story on a different website. You can get further proof if a site is accurate, if you check websites that list hoaxes, like www.snopes.com In general, always be careful and crosscheck information. This way you are safe and can enjoy the many benefits of the internet! 10 Language skills Extras Explore 1 Global media Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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