Larry the Legend wrote:
Try applying those principles to the story I posted. That's the point.
Method
1
Evaluating a News Site (My favorite method because I avoid f**e news sites as I h**e to dig through a mountain of garbage for a slim nugget of t***h IF one even exists. Most of these methods did not apply to the site you posted in your OP)
5
Look up the website itself. Search the website's name in a search engine and see what comes up. Read the "About Us" page, and
descriptions of the site such as on Wikipedia and Snopes.[10]
Check their social media. Are they posting clickbait, and do the headlines match what the articles actually say?
If you suspect an organization might be biased or controversial, try adding the word "controversy" to your search terms and see what comes up.
Method
2
Examining a News Article (These are very good tips that SHOULD you want to check out the individual article, they will work fine)
1
Look into the article’s authors. Although f**e news sites typically provide a byline at the top of the article and name an author, a little research on your part can help you tell if the individual exists and if the news site is genuine.[11] If no other information about the author is given on the website, or if the article does not provide a byline, you’re probably looking at f**e news.
For example, if the byline of a potentially f**e news article gives an author’s name,
Google the author and see if they have written any journalism for other sites. Reputable journalists should have multiple publications, and often a personal website as well.
Even if a news site provides a “biography” of the suspicious author, but provides suspicious or seemingly bogus information therein, the individual may not be real.
Genuine news sites are scrupulous about documenting their writers’ achievements and providing access to contact authors and journalists.
2
Check out the sources. Look into the sources and citations that the article provides. Genuine news stories will quote interviews, provide statistics, and back up their claims with references to facts. Check out the credibility of the sources themselves—follow links given in the article—and make sure that these websites are factual as well.[12]
If the article does not provide any sources for its information and does not link to any corroborating news stories, it’s likely providing f**e news.[13]
If the article has no quotes, quotes from only one person, or quotes from people who don't exist, then it is likely f**e.[14]
Be wary of f**e quotes. If you see a sensationalist quote, try copying the quote and pasting it into a search bar. If it's real, then it's likely that other news outlets will have the same quote.[15]
(make sure you check WHAT other sites publish the same quote, if no legitimate sources publish the same quite then the quote is f**e)
3
Beware of sensationalism. Often, f**e news sites try to pass off outlandish claims as being true, with the hope of shocking gullible readers. Read past the headline, and continue past the opening paragraph. If the logic of the article seems to fall apart as you continue, or if the article cites clearly inauthentic sources, you’re dealing with a piece of f**e news.[16]
News stories that are ridiculous or rage-inducing may be f**e.[17]
In extreme cases, the content of the article may have nothing to do with the sensationalist, attention-grabbing headline.
The previously mentioned f**e news article about Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump is a good example of a sensationalistic piece. The article is designed to create an emotional response in specific readers (Catholics and Republicans), although the basic premise is absurd.
4
Try a reverse image search if you suspect a photo could be misused or taken out of context. Sometimes f**e news sites will use stock images, or steal an image from someone else. Right-click on the image and you will have the option to search Google for it. (You can also search the URL and it will offer an image search option.) This way, you can see if other news outlets are using the image, and what they are saying about it.[18]
Sometimes it is normal to use stock images. For example, an article about healthy eating might have a stock image of food on it. However,
if they are using a generic stock image and claiming that it is a specific person, it is likely that this person doesn't exist.
(Perhaps you saw me tear mr. mr. apart over his f**e meme a couple days ago, this method is awesome and obviously I already knew of this one.)
5
Look at other articles published on the site. If a news article seems really great, double-check the other stories on the site to see if they publish other stories that may be outlandish. Looking at multiple articles will give you an idea of how accurate a news site is.
Method
3
Investigating the Authenticity of the News (Excellent method, too bad all the Trumpsters refuse to believe anything not pro-Trump so these methods will not work for or on Trumpsters, they are too ignorant)
1
Follow the history of the news. F**e news is often “recycled”; a popular f**e-news story from five years ago may be resurrected by an unscrupulous site. Click through the links and sources in a potentially f**e news article, and check the publication dates of every article. If a current article cites sources from a decade ago, the news is likely f**e.[19]
F**e news can also circulate internationally. For example, a f**e story could originate in the United States, die out over time, and be presented as “breaking news” in the UK three years later.
2
Beware of explicitly partisan news. Especially during national e******ns, f**e news sites will publish information that plays directly into the hands of one political party.
F**e news sites often accomplish this by playing into the fears of a specific group or political party, and relying on individuals in that party to believe the f**e news that confirms their fears without evaluating the source for authenticity.[20]
This phenomenon is known as “confirmation bias”: individuals with strong beliefs are eager to read news that affirms those beliefs, and hesitant to believe sources that they disagree with.
(I actually don't care if there is some partisan bias, right or left IF the facts are true, facts over bias.)
3
Search keywords related to the event, and see what you find. When something groundbreaking or surprising happens, multiple news outlets will report on it. If only one website is reporting on a newsworthy event, then it is unlikely that it is real.[21]
(Also if only one group of sites, right or left are reporting it, there is a
chance that the news is f**e and you should exercise extra caution)
4
Check f**e-news debunking sites. Websites such as Snopes and FactCheck.org, The Washington Post Fact Checker, and politifact.com are sites dedicated to discovering if stories are f**e or true. They fact-check bogus news stories and report on their authenticity. Before you believe a suspicious-looking news article, check a “debunking” site.
These sites have the time and resources to investigate news articles and their sources, and provide unbiased evaluations of news authenticity.[22]
When evaluating news, it can help to be a skeptical reader. Doubt claims that seem engineered to anger or shock you, and turn to sites like Snopes when in doubt.
F**e news is often engineered to appeal to irrational readers, so by methodically evaluating the news site and article, you can prevent yourself from believing falsities.
(This one is great for rational persons, too bad Trumpsters AREN'T rational and they irrationally distrust legitimate news, sites and sources. They believe facts are fiction, t***h is lies, fiction is fact and lies are t***h.)