Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation: An Informational Guide

"News or views I don't like" are not automatically "fake news." 

Part of the reason fake news is so easily spread without being verified is because it confirms what someone wants to hear. This is confirmation bias: "The tendency to test one's beliefs or conjectures by seeking evidence that might confirm or verify them and to ignore evidence that might disconfirm or refute them." (Oxford Reference, 2017)

Confirmation bias is also fed by the filtering of social media - both by our own active following and unfollowing of what pages we agree or disagree with as well as social media algorithms that detect your preferences and adjust your feeds accordingly (robots that basically note "you liked this post about a certain diet, so we'll start showing more diet-related posts on your newsfeed" or "you unfollowed a friend who was posting from this political page, so we'll show less content from pages like that on your newsfeed"). Check out Blue Feed, Red Feed to see an example of how different the information you're getting looks like depending on what pages you follow!

Willingness to challenge your own perspective and consider other viewpoints - even if you still disagree with them - can be an important means of fighting fake news and clickbait.

AllSides

With the stated mission to "free people from filter bubbles so they can better understand the world and each other," AllSides shows news content from multiple perspectives on current events based on a patented media bias rating system.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context

The premier full-text resource covering today's hottest social issues. This resource brings together all the information that's needed to fully understand an issue: pro- and con- viewpoint articles, reference articles that provide context, and more!