#FakeNews and Real Problems Online?

When I first read this article, I felt fairly confident that I could spot the real and fake images, reviews, and quotes. For the most part, I was spot on as well. I was able to discern that the first photograph was fake, which Jefferson quotes were real and fake, and that the first review was real. At the same time, I was convinced that the second review was fake. Without putting forth any research into the review, I felt that the other review was fake because the entire review was centered around additional hotel fees.

Photo Credit

The review is positive and mentions a rom upgrade and room service. There is no mention of the additional price for these amenities, yet the review remains glowing. Even if this is a real review, I would be skeptical to trust this type of review. 

The strategy that I used throughout this exercise was nothing more than deductive reasoning. With the photograph, the differences in lighting was the clear giveaway that the picture had been altered. As for the Jefferson quotes, I felt that the gun control quote did not fit with the era in which Jefferson lived. To my knowledge, there was no real opposition to gun control during his time and is more of a modern stance with respect to the second amendment. 

The biggest takeaway that I have from this exercise resides in the use of research strategies. I was able to find an infographic to help others learn to decipher between what is real and what is fake online. 

Photo Credit

The best advice when determining if something is real or fake is to dig deeper and find the truth before accepting one article as real. I am a huge proponent of snopes.com as a source to help determine if something online is true or not. I would recommend this website and infographic to all students who are struggling to determine the validity of anything they encounter online. 

As a postscript, it was incredibly difficult to not include a picture of Donald Trump in a blog post about fake news.