Posted on 09/28/2019 8:22:17 AM PDT by CptnObvious
How do you Ferret out or Spot Fake News?
With Major News stories proven to be false these days, how do you ferret out or spot fake news early and not be taken in by a false News Narratives.
Below are some simple techniques for folks who are not Journalist by trade:
#1: Just Wait 24 to 48 hours
Just wait 24 to 48 hours on any story that smells fishy or is to good to be true. Then look for stories like it again. You would be amazed at how many stories are false and get retracted or severely modified.
Do you remember the Bust of Martin Luther King they said was removed from Trump's White House when he got in. Surely Trump was a Racist. There was a picture that didn't show the bust. Yet the next day a picture was taken showing the bust was still there.
What happened was that a photographer had taken a picture with someone in front of the bust and the media had gone hog wild. The media was in fact, no pun intended, got BUSTED.
So #1:
#1: Just Wait 24 to 48 hours
#2: Whenever possible, look at the Actual or the Closest Source.
The Media likes to comment on things endlessly. They will drag out and dramatize a story to make money on it endlessly if they possibly can. Often it is a False Narrative and could be Fake News in Progress.
Case in Point, Trump was said to have asked a favor of the Ukrainian President to get dirt on a Democratic Candidate Joe Biden. It was said that he was withholding Military aid until they did so (a Quid Pro Quo).
Looking at a Transcript (the closest source we have) here is what the President said about Biden:
Trump: "There's a lot of talk about about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution, so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me"
No mention of military aid or any coercion. The whole thing is Bogus... A False Narrative... FAKE NEWS - before with the Whistle-blower.
I am not going to be taken in by any more stories or by False Narratives on this from here on out.
#2: Whenever possible, look at the Actual or the Closest Source.
#3: Ask yourself, "Am I getting the Key Facts or am I being dragged on by someone's opinion?".
In any good news story, the Key Facts are laid out in the first two or three paragraphs. If you've not gotten the Key Facts by the third paragraph you are probably being Dragged on by a Narrative. If in a political article, the first three paragraphs are filled with words "the horrible administration", "the president lying", "White House stonewalling" and you have no idea what is actually going on - YOU ARE PROBABLY BEING DRAGED ON THROUGH THE MUD
#3: Ask yourself, "Am I getting the Key Facts or am I being dragged on by someone's opinion?".
#4: Flip the Story around and ask yourself would the story be covered the same way? If not - watch out for BIAS.
For instance, if it were President Obama having the conversation with the Ukrainian President and it was Trump's son Don Jr. who got the $50,000 (A MONTH! with No Experience) - would the reporting be the same?
If it were Trump's son Don Jr. it would be NEWS 24X7 for Weeks. But since it is Biden's son - you get CRICKETS CHIRPING IN A FIELD (IE: Nothing or Next to Nothing).
This exposes a Journalist BIAS and that Journalist should not be trusted or you should be Severely Skeptical of anything they write from then on out.
NOTE: All Journalists are biased. The question is whether they are being honest about their bias or are the trying to HIDE THEIR BIAS and TRYING TO BIAS YOU!
#4: Flip the Story around and ask yourself would the story be covered the same way? If not - watch out for BIAS.
#5: Compare Articles on the Same Story - are Facts being Deliberately Omitted?
Often times we have no close access to news Sources. Without the sources and your senses saying "I'm not sure about what I'm seeing, reading or hearing" - look at similar articles. Look for additional information.
For instance, one article I read about described a wonderful woman and how she was being treated unfairly by the American Justice System. To this reporter she had obviously been "railroaded" and discriminated against.
But in another article, I discovered that she had participated in 4 Bombings out of 30 in the U.S. in which many people were killed. She had been convicted of the bombings and had been released with the help of a liberal lawyer just recently.
If I had not compared articles, I would have never known the first article was completely biased and DEVOID OF THE KEY FACTS. I WOULD BE SYMPATHIZING WITH A DOMESTIC TERRORIST AND NOT EVEN KNOWN IT.
So in Short:
#1: Just Wait 24 to 48 hours
#2: Whenever possible, look at the Actual or the Closest Source.
#3: Ask yourself, "Am I getting the Key Facts or am I being dragged on by someone's opinion?".
#4: Flip the Story around and ask yourself would the story be covered the same way? If not - watch out for BIAS.
#5: Compare Articles on the Same Story - are Facts being Deliberately Omitted?
My rule to tell if it is fake news:
If it comes from the usual suspects in the liberal MSM, it is automatically assumed to be fake and made up with a biased slant. Period.
If they ever got a hold of a real story, they wouldn't know what to do with it.
I would also add as Step Zero is to look at the source. If the source is a known propaganda group, a fake news outlet or similar site, you can write it off almost at once without examination.
Media Matters and all the arms or that octopus. USA Today, NYT, WaPost, NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, and the biggest CNN are all so corrupt that you can assume from the start that all or most of the report is FALSE and MISLEADING.
I look for the use of popular cliches, and also unsupported non-factual statements
#1 If it comes from ABC,NBC,CBS,CNN,MSNBC you can assume it is false or at best only half true and most of the pertinent facts are missing by design.
2. If it involves any fact,statement or evidence from anyone that has worked in Government more than 6 years, it is most likely FALSE and they are lying about everything.
My rule- most of these people broadcast their views on abortion. If they are not pro life thy are liars and they promote fake news. If they don’t broadcast it it’s easy to ferret them out. They lie once and lose all credibility
I never thought of it like that, I never put it in words
But I have been doing that for as long as I can remember and I know who is giving me a false premise and who is sincere
That and who do they work for. Many news outlets discriminate against sincere people by discriminating on the basis of their leftist cred. That Always goes to their pro abortion position
I don’t have to wait 24 or 48 hours to see if they’re lying but I do use that as a schedule to look for the left’s reaction to getting caught in front of the world.
Consider the source.
If it’s CNN, the Slimes, MSNBC, etc. assume it’s propaganda with just a minimum of cherry picked, convenient “facts” to cover up (unsuccessfully) the stench of bias.
If it’s FNC, it depends on who is reporting it.
Rush is usually pretty good at giving the whole story.
Freerepublic is good if you read the article and then the comments. In the comments there’s usually someone who has looked into it in more depth.
Trust your common sense.
Or if the words “sources close to the President” or “an anonymous witness”. These type of sources are always opinions of biased people trying to make their narrative the one that gets followed by the liberal media. And whatever happened to verification and facts first ?
What is the source...
Always be suspicious of news that is too good to be true...
Always be suspicious of bad news...
Just those three things save me a lot of time.
So right about waiting, any new story is subject to being wrong whether deliberately or not. That is true for big wreck on the interstate and doubly true for anything that has anything to do with politics.
If it comes from the usual suspects in the liberal MSM, it is automatically assumed to be fake and made up with a biased slant. Period.
^ This + 1
If you hear something in an airport lounge about Donald Trump, it's fake news. Take it to the bank.
ML/NJ
If their lips are moving, and they’re the usual suspects, it’s fake.
If you hear anything about Donald Trump, ignore it for _one_ _full_ _year_.
Betcha its gone!
Anonymous sources = made up story
At this point it’s all fake. I don’t pay attention to American news.
If it comes through the cable to your TV, or by way of CBS on your radio ‘on the hour’ news, you can be sure it is fake.
It’s WAY more simplistic than that: If you saw it on TV, it’s fake news. If a 23 year old bimbo talks, she’s only reading lines.
figure out what Phrase of the day is repeated by all the liberal media. That tells you it’s a lie.
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