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November 15, 2016

False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and Satirical “News” Sources (Another Useful Listicle)

Filed under: Journalism,News,Reporting — Patrick Durusau @ 5:39 pm

False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and Satirical “News” Sources by Melissa Zimdars.

From the document:

Below is a list of fake, false, regularly misleading, and/or otherwise questionable “news” organizations, as well as organizations that regularly use clickbait-y headlines and descriptions, that are commonly shared on facebook and other social media sites. Some of these websites rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits.

Other sources on this list are purposefully fake with the intent of satire/comedy, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but they are regularly shared as actual/literal news. I’m including them here, for now, because 1.) they have the potential to perpetuate misinformation based on different audience (mis)interpretations and 2.) to make sure anyone who reads a story by The Onion, for example, understands its purpose. If you think this is unnecessary, please see Literally Unbelievable.

This list is in the process of being updated and to her credit, Melissa explicitly says that no source should be given an automatic imprimatur.

Too many commentators to complain about “false news,” and/or “bubbles:”

  • Want to separate true/false news for you
  • Want to sell you their bubble to replace your own

You will be less informed and less capable of evaluating news for yourself in either case.

As Melissa notes, read widely and with a critical eye.

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