Accessible copy of Fake News: Check your own claim!

Compare these two links.  Which one do you think is true?  Why or why not?
1 - Eat This Not That: Shocking Facts About Farmed Salmon
2 - Washington State Department of Health: Farmed vs. Wild Salmon

What to Think About When Thinking About the News

1. What is the main idea of this article? What is the point this article is trying to make? Was it easy to find? Does the title of the article make sense? 

2. How does this article want me to feel? What kind of language is being used? Are the images positive or negative? Do you see lots of exclamation points and words in bold that make you pay attention to them? 

3. Does this article provide evidence for its claims from good sources? Are the links provided sending you to journals, articles in well-researched publications or statistical sites? Or are they sending you to "alternative" sites with little factual information? 

4. Am I able to independently verify claims in this article? If a claim doesn't have a link in the article, can I find information on it myself? are all the links simply recycled from one source, or are there multiple tests, surveys, studies, or other sources available? 

1. When you open up a news article in your browser, open a second, empty tab.  Use that second window to look up claims, author credentials and organizations that you come across in the article.
2. Fake news spans across all kinds of media - printed and online articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, radio shows, even still images. 
3. As Mad-Eye Moody said in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, "Constant Vigilance!"  Always be ready to fact check.
4. Even the best researchers will be fooled once in a while.  If you find yourself fooled by a fake news story, use your experience as a learning tool.