Gary McGath
2016-12-02 10:36:12 UTC
"Fake news" has been a hot topic lately. It's even gone meta; the
Washington Post published a list of "fake news" sites which many have
denounced as ineptly compiled. We've had our own share of fake news here
lately. There should be a filk of "I've got a little list" in there, but
first I'd like to offer some tips on recognizing fake rumors.
If something unexpected comes from a single source and has no other
support, it's worth some skepticism. An email address containing a
person's name is not proof that it came from that person. It's
impossible to register all potential email addresses that contain your name.
When the message claims that the person sending it is dead, that's
further reason to be suspicious. Corpses are notoriously reticent about
their status.
If most of the supporting details are wrong, it's very likely that the
message's main claim is wrong. If it references places and works that
don't exist, describes people in a way inconsistent with your knowledge,
and brings in events that nothing corroborates, those are all indicators
that it's either mistaken or intentionally deceptive.
Please apply some critical thinking to any implausible reports you see.
Washington Post published a list of "fake news" sites which many have
denounced as ineptly compiled. We've had our own share of fake news here
lately. There should be a filk of "I've got a little list" in there, but
first I'd like to offer some tips on recognizing fake rumors.
If something unexpected comes from a single source and has no other
support, it's worth some skepticism. An email address containing a
person's name is not proof that it came from that person. It's
impossible to register all potential email addresses that contain your name.
When the message claims that the person sending it is dead, that's
further reason to be suspicious. Corpses are notoriously reticent about
their status.
If most of the supporting details are wrong, it's very likely that the
message's main claim is wrong. If it references places and works that
don't exist, describes people in a way inconsistent with your knowledge,
and brings in events that nothing corroborates, those are all indicators
that it's either mistaken or intentionally deceptive.
Please apply some critical thinking to any implausible reports you see.
--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com