Did you know the Prime Minister
of Canada has a pet alien?
I read it online
and I even saw a photo.
A photo!
It must be true, right?
Wrong. Turns out sometimes
the news you find
on the Internet isn't real.
It's what
we call fake news.
Sometimes the story
starts as a joke
and then somebody takes
it seriously and it spreads.
But why would anybody
waste their time
inventing a fake news story?
It's click bait.
The more people click on
an interesting sounding story,
the more people will see
the ads on that web page
and that equals money
and sometimes people just want
to spread their own ideas
or beliefs without backing them
up with any facts at all.
Vote for me and I'll turn all
rivers and ice cream by 2020.
That's a promise.
You mean that's not true?
I read that one online,
like, a week ago!
Oh I love ice cream.
So, how can you tell
if a news story is fake?
I know this one.
Watch out for:
no eyewitnesses,
or quotes,
and phony experts in a story,
pictures that might
have been photo shopped,
headlines written
in capital letters
with lots of exclamation points.
Yep, that's right.
Those things are all good
indicators that the story
you're reading is fake.
Here's a few more.
Lots of pop ups and banner ads.
Lots of broken links.
No authors name
and incomplete information
in the About Us section
of the website.
Also, check the date
the story was written.
Is this just an old story
that's been recycled?
Are any other major websites
reporting the same thing?
If not, the story
probably isn't real.
And check the website address.
Fake URL's usually
try to copy real websites,
often by adding unnecessary
words and domains.
A basic rule of thumb...
..if you aren't sure that a
story is real, don't share it.
Hey, look!
the banana company
is giving away free bPhones.
All I have to do is share
this article with 500
of my friends
and I could get a free--
Oh. Right.
[sighs]
Both:
Fake news.
♪ [light]
