Reliable SourcesTips to Spot Fake Content during the COVID-19 pandemic

POLITICAL CARTOON

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

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False Information Tips Reliable

Sources

FALSE INFORMATION

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FAKE NEWSnews articles that are intentionally and verifiably false and could mislead readers

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NOT FAKE NEWS

▰ Unintentional reporting mistakes ▰ Rumors that do not originate from

a news article▰ Conspiracy theories ▰ False statements by politicians▰ Satire

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CONSEQUENCES OF FALSE INFORMATION

▰ People are looking for news that confirms what they believe, rather than the facts

▰ People have less-accurate beliefs, which can negatively impact your health and make you more vulnerable to the virus▻ Example: drugs, hot water, breathing exercise

▰ More skeptical of news producers to the extent that they become hard to distinguish from fake news producers

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TIPS

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TIPS TO DETECT FAKE NEWS

▰ Named sources - if it doesn’t have them, probably fake▻ Specifically: If there’s a claim with a hyperlink, hover over

the link to see where it goes. Check if it goes to a reliable source.

▰ Trustworthy domain name ▰ Embedded social media posts▰ Common sense

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TIPS PART 2

▰ If it sounds outlandish:▻ Google the headline

▻ Even if you don’t trust politically biased news outlets, if a lot of mainstream media outlets are reporting it, you can trust that it’s real

▻ Search specific elements of the story

▻ Mentions a person or company? Google it.

▰ If you are really not sure, visit fact-checking websites such as snopes and politifact.

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TIPS PART 3 - SMELL TEST

▰ Source - who is the source of the article? Who’s quoted IN the article?

▰ Motivation - what is the purpose of the article? What motivates the author to share it?

▰ Evidence - what evidence do they use in the article?▰ Logic - what is the rationale behind the article? Is it logical?▰ Left out - what’s left out? What did the author fail to mention?

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TIPS PART 3 - PIE TEST

▰ Proximity - how close is the author to the subject matter?▰ Independence - does the author have an unbiased

relationship with the subject matter? Is there any indication that the author has been influenced to write a certain way?

▰ Expertise - how much expertise is involved? Is the author the expert or did they have reliable experts as their source?

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RELIABLE SOURCES

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LIST OF RELIABLE HEALTH SOURCES

▰ World Health Organization (WHO)▰ United Nations (UN)▰ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)▰ U.K. National Health Service (NHS)▰ California Department of Public Health▰ CA state website: covid19.ca.gov▰ Esteemed universities and research groups

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ADDITIONAL SOURCES:

▰ NIH -- the National Institute of Health and parent organization of over two dozen institutes: https://www.nih.gov/

▰ NIA -- the National Institute of Aging: https://www.nia.nih.gov/▰ NIAID -- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/▰ When and how to wash your hands:

https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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THANKS!Any questions?

Please direct them to emeriti@usc.edu