HOAXBUSTER
Hi there! Here we are!!
With this podcast I’ll try to teach you something important about fake news, how to recognize it and how to shield yourself from being tricked into believing it. But what fake news really is? Well, actually fake news is an umbrella term related to all that deceptive information, as advertising, propaganda, clickbaits, satire or biased issues, meant to fool the readers and at the same time to pay off the one who created it. In fact fake news is generated and spreaded on a large scale with bad purposes and not only from real people, but even from bots aimed at creating hoaxes and then bombarding us massively through social media, web pages, articles, videos… First thing first, you should know many people are sure to be safe and protected from the fake news spreading process, although the truth is that almost the majority of them wouldn’t be able to spot it, and that’s why misinformation circulates so largely and so fast. So what’s wrong with that? The risk of fake news circulation is more than just having received a wrong information about something, due to the fact misinformation and opinionism represent a threat against democracy. For example, on a campaign trail, voters’ ideas might be influenced from misinformation, because of them assuming fake or biased news as real, and that is the point why fake news is created, in addition to the profit gained from the number of clicks, views and sharings of that content.
Therefore everybody should be aware of how to avoid misinformation by using critical thought, so I’ll tell you some helpful tips in order to cope with misinformation and its diffusion:
1)Keep your eyes wide open and before clicking on advertising or provocatory snippets on your screen, look for tell-tale signs and ask yourself some questions like: does the title make me angry? Is it emotionally-fuelling? Is it written ALL CAPS? Is it offensive towards someone famous?If a content is appealing ought to the first emotional impact, than it probably is a clickbait, or satire.
2) If you feel quite sure it isn’t any of the previous fake news, than look at the lede or at the bottom of the page and check the date. Do some research on the author, read other articles written by him, and google the name... remember real authors do never forget their signature. Look at the images and try to search them on the Internet, in order to evaluate if they have been used by someone else before or if they have been adjusted.
3) Now, since you’re going to be a good hoaxbuster you are still suspicious, so you decide to investigate on the website by examining the URL and checking on a fact-checker website if it’s reliable, especially if it sounds strange.
4) As a deceptive detective you read the article carefully: if the grammar is incorrect, the phrasing is convoluted and there are many typing mistakes, probably it is fake news.
5) The fifth step requires you to hone critical thinking. At this point you are going to discriminate the content into fake news or into share worthy material. Through reading or watching the content, dig deeper and grab all the subtle evidence for your final evaluation, look for loaded words, biased claims and question whatever isn’t neutral. At the end if you find out the issue is biased, do not pay attention to what it said, because good news explicits opinionism clearly to the users. If it is propaganda, bear in mind you’ve rights of choice. In the end, if you realize it is a good material than it is share worthy.

As an expert hoaxbuster I recommend you to share on social media only the contents that you know for sure are trustworthy, because fake news may damage someone and cause havoc, and although people feel safe online not everybody is as well informed in terms of fake news as we are. Now that you became an expert hoaxbuster you know how to spoil a fake news story, so teach what you’ve learnt to your friends and your parents so that you can turn them into clever...