Ever wake up one morning and think to yourself:
“Jeepers self… if only I could REALLY train myself to recognize the pain and agony of fake news… and stop myself from sharing it online as well before my foot gets wedged inside my ear?”
Welp. If that be you, welcome to the state of 2020!
Fact is, I pride myself on being hugely savvy regarding recognizing fake news…
… but yesterday, oh wow was I ever caught!
See, there was an actual newsclip (a real live newsclip put out by real live reporters on a real live news station) about how the state of California had signed into law … water restrictions.
Water restrictions to the point one couldn’t shower and do one’s dishes in the same day.
The clip looked legit! The newsroom looked legit! And California, home of not-the-most-intelligent-politicians-in-the-USA is primed in my mind to do something that ridiculous….
So of course, I FIRST clicked to the post.
Then I played the clip. Yep. That’s what they were saying!
And then… I noticed the YouTube channel where I saw the clip…. which was a political channel.
And then I googled “water restriction in CA” within Google News and…
Gnope.
I was fooled. Big time.
And then the originating news station apparently removed the clip when they realized they too were fooled.
Fascinating, isn’t it? More like Maddening and Looking Like a Fooling and Arghing and the like but the fact is…
Fake news is here to stay and will only get worse, not better. 
So how can you confront the Dreaded Fake News Dragon?
Easy. By teaching him instead and making him your friend.
I was reminded of this when I saw the following (and after reading it, be sure to return here!):
www.niemanlab.org/2020/01/20-questions-for-2020/
It leads the reader through a logical series of questions, starting with:
“We like symmetry in numbers. So here are 20 (mostly hypothetical) questions that could prompt some reflection as we enter 2020:
1. What if journalists were to cut the time they spend on Twitter in half?
2. Or what if their bosses, the ones who over the past decade insisted on reporters being active on Twitter, were wrong all along — that social media use, on balance, would never be the net positive that many imagined?
3. What if journalists individually and news organizations collectively had a better understanding of the things they do that actually create value (economic, societal, or otherwise)?…”
All the way up to 20 questions to ask.
It’s really a fantastic read, highly encouraged because….
When you dare to confront the Fake News Dragon and choose to *educate* him instead…
… and point out where his news declarations are just plain *wrong*?
If you do that, you run the very high risk of turning that fake news Dragon into your friend instead… because instead of panicking first (and in the process, panicking you), that FND (we’ll call him Fluffy) starts to first *question* news that grabs his attention… and helps you ignore said fake news as well.
The concept of protecting yourself against fake news is something that could make for a great blueprint as well! You could structure it like so:
Step 1.) Learn what fake news really is
Step 2.) Be honest with yourself regarding your own confirmation bias
Step 3.) Train yourself how to recognize fake news
Resources for the above include:
www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-confirmation-bias-2795024
www.abtasty.com/blog/overcome-confirmation-bias/
www.npr.org/2019/10/29/774541010/fake-news-is-scary-heres-how-to-spot-misinformation
guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news/infographic
theconversation.com/how-to-spot-fake-news-this-election-128413
Your takeaway?
Fake news is one of the biggest dividers of, well, the world, these days. If you can befriend your own Fake News Dragon (who does NOT have to be named Fluffy, btw), you can ensure you’re not taken for a ride.
And that, of course, is a Very Good Thing indeed.
Enjoy!
Get Started Here
You’ll love what you learn… Promise!