For this discussion, we learned a lesson in checking twice when we see an article on the internet.
In April of 2016, an alleged ABC News article was published that the 2017 NBA canceled All Star game in North Carolina over anti LGBT law. The post was quickly shared but many people found out through a Facebook fan page that shared as a legit news source. Even Cleaveland.com picked up the story.
One of the ways to check the legitimacy of this article it's a verify it on the credible news site. It was found that this wasn't posted by ABC but rather a website going by “abcnews.com.co”, a very close look alike for their URL. Cleavland.com soon admit their mistake on reposting this article but the game was eventually moved inmJuly
On the list of websites that was provided for this assignment, I decided to go to The Onion. The first article that I looked at was one that allowed indoor flying for airlines. The article did not provide multiple viewpoints in the article, in the interview that they allegedly had was nonfactual and mostly opinionated. Lastly, there isn’t a name credited to the article. Thus, it can be concluded that this story is false.
As of writing this post, no one as commented on my dicussion in class. However, April dyers had this to say regarding the course of “fake news”
”A lot of "fake news" appears on social media without credible sources such as your example. Honestly, I think people seek out articles due to confirmation bias and fear.”
Though I do agree with what she said, there is more that goes into it than just that. People nowadays have a short attention span when it comes to content they see. They get the gist of information from headlines only without clicking the story itself. this allows sites that have clickbait titles more traction because no one checks their authenticity. If everybody stopped too read what they have seen online, they would be able to discredit it As soon as it appears.
References:
Lear, Justin. “5 Stunning Fake News Stories That Reached Millions.” CNNMoney, 2 Nov. 2016, money.cnn.com/2016/11/02/media/fake-news-stories/index.html.
The Onion. “Airlines Announce It Safe to Fly Planes Indoors Again.” The Onion, 19 Apr. 2022, www.theonion.com/airlines-announce-it-safe-to-fly-planes-indoors-again-1848813233.