Closed Doors

Houdini was a master magician as well as a fabulous locksmith. He boasted that he could escape from any jail cell in the world in less than an hour, provided he could go into the cell dressed in his street clothes. A small town in the British Isles built a new jail they were extremely proud of. They issued Houdini a challenge.

"Come give us a try," they said. By the time he arrived, excitement was at a fever pitch. Houdini rode triumphantly into the town and walked into the cell. He proudly walked into the cell and the door was closed. Houdini took off his coat and went to work. Secreted in his belt was a flexible tough and durable ten-inch piece of steel, which he used to work on the lock.

At the end of 30 minutes his confident expression had disappeared. At the end of an hour he was drenched in perspiration. After two hours, Houdini literally collapsed against the door--which opened. Yes, it had never been locked--except in his mind. One little push and Houdini could have easily opened the door. Many times a little extra push is all you need to open your opportunity door. Most locked doors are in your mind.

Zig Ziglar, See You At the Top

7 Webinars this Week about Writing, Journalism, AI & More

Tue, Aug 13 - Enhance Your eLearning with Audio Using the All-new Adobe Captivate

What: Discover how to take your eLearning courses to the next level with audio integration in Adobe Captivate. In this comprehensive webinar, you'll learn the importance of audio in eLearning, best practices for recording and editing, and how to seamlessly incorporate audio into your Captivate projects. Our expert instructor will guide you through step-by-step demonstrations, tips for ensuring high-quality sound, and techniques for engaging learners with effective audio. This session is designed to provide valuable insights and practical knowledge to enhance your eLearning content. Join us and transform your courses with the power of audio!

Who: Sharath Ramaswamy Senior eLearning Evangelist, Adobe

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Training Magazine Network

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Wed, Aug 14 - Guidelines for Covering Women in Politics

What: A discussion of the recently released the Guidelines for Covering Women in Politics, which focuses on sourcing, framing and language in political news. These best practices were created by NPF and 20 journalist-fellows.  

Who: Sonya Ross Editor-in-chief, Black Women Unmuted; Debbie Walsh Director, Center for American Women and Politics; Sameea Kamal Politics Reporter, CalMatters

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The National Press Foundation, Pivotal Ventures

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Wed, Aug 14 - A Place Called Vertigo: A Skeptic’s Guide to AI, Large Language Models, and Research Libraries

What: This webinar will offer some potential frameworks for using these tools responsibly and effectively. The webinar will close with a consideration of how these tools might amplify, rather than displace, the roles and values of contemporary research libraries.

Who: Alexander J. Carroll is the Associate Director of the Science and Engineering Library at Vanderbilt University

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Association of Southeastern Research Libraries

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Thu, Aug 15 - Mini Lab: AI Tools for Audio Journalists

What: Join us for a quick, facilitated session where you’ll get to experiment with generative AI audio. Participants will explore what generative AI audio is, learn about available tools, discuss ethical considerations, and even create historical reenactments using synthetic voices. It’s an engaging way to dive deeper into the capabilities and implications of AI in the audio space.

Who: Davar Ardalan Founder, TulipAI

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Online News Association

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Thu, Aug 15 – How Fact-Checking Works — And Why it Matters

What: This webinar provides an overview of the main types of fact-checking and what’s involved, and a discussion of the methods used to verify information and how fact-checking helps them tell stories and inform their audiences.

Who: Wilkine Brutus, Palm Beach County Correspondent, Producer, and Host, WLRN Public Media; Laura Zommer, Co-founder and CEO, Factchequeado; Kurt Sampsel, Senior Program Manager, PEN America

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pen America

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Thu, Aug 15 – Elevating Diversity in Journalism

What: This panel delves into the critical efforts and strategies newsrooms are employing to enhance diversity on their business desks and beyond. Industry leaders and journalists will share insights and their approaches to creating more inclusive and representative media environments.

Who: Imani Moise, Personal Economics Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Co-Chair of NABJ Business Task Force; Ali Jackson-Jolley, Newsroom Leader; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives, Forbes; Naomi Ishisaka, Assistant Managing Editor, The Seattle Times; Olivia Santiago, Recruitment Lead, Bloomberg; Bowdeya Tweh, Chicago Bureau Chief, The Wall Street Journal

When: 1 pm

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing

More Info

Fri, Aug 16 - Structuring Your Story: Master class on organizing narrative, breaking new

What: This four-hour virtual workshop will feature award-winning reporters and editors. Participants will: Gain go-to story structures that can be applied efficiently and effectively to almost any story. Hone skills for writing sharper ledes and memorable endings. Get inspiration for ways to organize notes, find the telling quotes, work with data, and build out the story. Whether you are an experienced journalist or new to the business you will develop some new approaches to story writing.  

Who: Lane DeGregory, a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at the Tampa Bay Times; Beth Francesco, executive director, National Press Club Journalism Institute; Wesley Lowery, executive editor of Investigation Reporting Workshop at American University and a Pulitzer Prize winner; Steve Padilla, Los Angeles Times Column One editor; Eric Tucker, national security reporter for the Associated Press

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $65-75

Sponsor: Journalism Institute of the National Press Club

More Info

Is Talent Overrated?

It is mid-1978, and we are inside the giant Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati, looking into a cubicle shared by a pair of 22-year-old men, fresh out of college. Their assignment is to sell Duncan Hines brownie mix, but they spend a lot of their time just rewriting memos.  

Neither has any kind of career plan. Every afternoon they play waste-bin basketball with wadded-up memos. One of them later recalls, "We were voted the two guys probably least likely to succeed."

These two young men are of interest to us now for only one reason: They are Jeffrey Immelt and Steven Ballmer, who before age 50 would become CEOs of two of the world's most valuable corporations, General Electric and Microsoft. Contrary to what any reasonable person would have expected when they were new recruits, they reached the apex of corporate achievement.  

The obvious question is how. Was it talent? If so, it was a strange kind of talent that hadn't revealed itself in the first 22 years of their lives. Brains? The two were sharp but had shown no evidence of being sharper than thousands of classmates or colleagues. Was it mountains of hard work? Certainly not up to that point. And yet something carried them to the heights of the business world.

Which leads to perhaps the most puzzling question, one that applies not just to Immelt and Ballmer but also to everyone: If that certain special something turns out not to be any of the things we usually think of, then what is it?

If we believe that people without a particular natural talent for some activity will never be competitive with those who possess that talent - meaning an inborn ability to do that specific thing easily and well - then we'll direct them away from that activity. We'll steer our kids away from art, tennis, economics, or Chinese because we think we've seen that they have no talent in those realms.

In our own lives we'll try something new and, finding that it doesn't come naturally to us, conclude that we have no talent for it, and so we never pursue it.

A number of researchers now argue that talent means nothing like what we think it means, if indeed it means anything at all. A few contend that the very existence of talent is not, as they carefully put it, supported by evidence. In studies of accomplished individuals, researchers have found few signs of precocious achievement before the individuals started intensive training. Similar findings have turned up in studies of musicians, tennis players, artists, swimmers, mathematicians, and others.  

Such findings do not prove that talent doesn't exist. But they do suggest an intriguing possibility: that if it does, it may be irrelevant.

Geoff Colvin, Why Talent is Overrated

The Lessons of Elders

Being unwilling to accept defeat—is a guarantee that one will never learn the lessons that must be learned if one is to mature. That is why the elders that we need so badly in our success-obsessed society are not the natural-born winners who rose to the top without a setback. Such people are easy to idealize, but they have little to teach us. What elders need to help younger people learn is that without releasing the fruits of one season, they cannot blossom into the next. Such elders can show us, because they have done it many times, how to let go of who we have been to clear the ground for the growth of who we are becoming. They can help us to understand the transition-related emotions of grief (sadness for what have let go of), disorientation (when we are lost in the neutral zone), and fear (when the challenges of the unknown new beginnings are overwhelming).

William Bridges,  The Way of Transition

7 Ways to Spot AI Images

Here are some tips for determining if an image is likely created by AI.

81. THE BACKGROUND. Are people in the background looking at the unusual thing going on? If they are going about their business, it is likely a fake. Often, the background of AI images will be distorted. 

82. OTHER VIDEOS & PHOTOS. If the video or image is of a news event and there are no other videos or images showing different angles, it may be AI-generated. It is unlikely that there would be only a single image or video of something odd or newsworthy.

83. DETAILS. AI generators are not good at details—like fingers, hands and hair. Many times, AI software will show too many fingers or odd hand placement. 

84. WRITING. Look closely at writing on a sticker, street sign or billboard. Watch for blurry writing when it shouldn’t be or wrongly formed letters, or the letters that don’t spell words.  

85. GLOSSY. The overly glossy look, similar to some stock photos, can be an AI giveaway. Watch for people with plastic-looking faces. 

86. THE SOURCE. Is the person or organization sharing the image reliable and not known for promoting AI-generated media?

87. THE EYES. By using methods conventionally used to "measure the shapes of galaxies," researchers have found that deepfake images don't have the same consistency in reflections across both eyes. However, this method of detection does have false positives and false negatives.

More about spotting fake news

Questions & Answers

Rather than puzzling over whether you have all the answers, it's better to focus on the question, "Am I wrestling with the right questions?"  Stephen Goforth

7 Ways to Spot AI Writing

Here are some tips for determining if an article is likely written by AI.

73. OVERUSED WORDS. AI-written articles tend to come back to the same terms multiple times. Examples would be comprehensive, delve, meticulous, versatile and pivotal. Before 2024, overused AI words in scientific research papers were typically nouns. More recently, researchers say AI excessively uses "style" words—mostly verbs and some adjectives.

74. TORTURED ACRONYMS. Generative AI will sometimes pick up the wrong words for an acronym. For instance, a data science paper might use "CNN" to refer to "convolutional brain organization" instead of "convolutional neural network.”

75. NONSENSICAL PARAPHRASES. An academic paper written by AI might have “glucose bigotry” instead of “glucose intolerance,” where it changed a single word and did not recognize the context.  

76. ACADEMIC CITATIONS. AI-written articles with academic citations have been known to include incorrect or incomplete references. 

77. STYLE CHANGES. A sudden change in writing style within an article or essay may indicate that the author’s work was rewritten using AI.

78. PERFECT GRAMMAR. A typo, particularly in student writing, could indicate the article or essay is not wholly the work of a bot. Mistake-free writing is, ironically, a red flag. However, savvy writing prompts may ask the AI to include some errors in order to mislead inspectors.  

80. MECHANICAL STYLING. AI tends to mechanically repeat expressions that appear often in the internet material that it was trained on. The result is often uninspired and generic prose that often lacks any specific point. 

 More about spotting fake news

AI Definitions: Machine Learning

Machine learning (ML) - This subset of AI makes predictions or decisions based on patterns it spots in data sets. The process evolves and adapts on its own as it is exposed to new data, improving the output without explicit programming from a human. An example would be algorithms recommending ads for users, which become more tailored the longer it observes the users‘ habits (someone’s clicks, likes, time spent, etc.). Data scientists combine ML with other disciplines (like big data analytics and cloud computing) to solve real-world problems. However, the results are limited to probabilities, not absolutes. It doesn’t reveal causation. There are four types of machine learning: supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, and reinforcement learning. A clever computer program that simply mimics human-like behavior can be considered AI, but the computer system itself is not machine learning unless its parameters are automatically informed by data without human intervention. Video: Introduction to Machine Learning

More definitions here

Bent to the Illusion

The Müller-Lyer illusion, a famous optical illusion (involves) two sets of arrows. The arrows are exactly the same length. But in one case, the ends of the arrows outward, seem to signify expansion and boundless potential. In the other case, they point inward, making them seem self-contained and limited. The first case is analogous to how investors see the stock market when returns have been increasing; the second case is how they see it after a crash.

“There’s no way that you can control yourself not to have that illusion,” (Nobel prize winner) Daniel Kahneman told me. “You look at them, and one of the arrows is going to look longer than the other. But you can train yourself to recognize that this is a pattern that causes an illusion, and in that situation, I can’t trust my impressions; I’ve got to use a ruler.”

Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise

4 Fake News Signals from Outside the Website

Here are some tips for determining if a story is likely reliable. An organization does not need to tick off all these qualifiers in order to be considered authentic and accurate, but the more you see red flags pop up, the more a healthy skepticism is in order.

69. YOUR COMMUNITY. There’s no substitute for knowing people who are well-informed and will let you know when you’ve posted something questionable. These are people you can ask when you have your doubts. Don’t know any experts or researchers, or information junkies from various fields who are critical and helpful? Make some new friends! Developing such a support system is critical for navigating effectively through life. Read some books written by experts. 

70. FACT-CHECKING SITES. Does a fact-checking site identify the assertion of the article as a hoax? Check one of the sites listed at the end of this article or type the article’s topic into a search engine and add “hoax” or “fake.”  

71. THE OTHER SIDE. Take time to check sites that do not agree with your politics. If you discover they are wrong and perhaps not addressing the best arguments of your side, it is a confirmation you are on the right side of an issue. Or maybe you will discover a weakness in your own reasoning you haven’t considered. Either way,  you'll know what other people are consuming, sharpening your thinking.

72. GOOGLING THE TOPIC. If you do a Google search for a topic, remember that reliable researchers do not write material answering questions like “Did the Holocaust exist?” Instead of decent sources, this type of search will bring up conspiracy theorists. Don’t be misled by a search that frames issues as secret plots and nefarious schemes.

 More ways to spot fake news

AI Definitions: Hallucinations

Hallucinations – This is when an AI provides responses that are inaccurate or not based on facts. Generative AI models are designed to generate data that is realistic or distributionally equivalent to the training data and yet different from the actual data used for training. This is why they are better at brainstorming than reflecting the real world and why they should not be treated as sources of truth or factual knowledge. Generative AI models can answer some questions correctly, but this is not what they are designed and trained to do.

More AI definitions here.

looking down

A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down you can't see something that's above you.  – CS Lewis

12 Fake News Signals from the Publisher

Here are some tips for determining if a story is likely reliable. An organization does not need to tick off all these qualifiers in order to be considered authentic and accurate, but the more you see red flags pop up, the more a healthy skepticism is in order.

57. REPUTATION. Is the writer’s reputation at stake if they are wrong? Does the organization risk losing reputation or losing finances if it becomes known for having promoted false news? 

58. RELIABILITY. Has the organization been reliable in the past? Have you read other information from the organization confirmed to be accurate?

59. AMATEURISH. Data collected by an amateur is more error-prone than data collected by a professional scientist. Does a quick web search confirm whether the people who collected and organized the data have a good track record of collecting and distributing data?  

60. RESPONSE TO CRITICS. Does the publisher respond publicly to its critics when there are reasonable questions? Does it acknowledge when the critics have a point? 

61. DATA SOURCES. Look closely at the sources of data the publisher uses: is this material provided by for-profit companies, partisan organizations, or advocacy groups? While the material may be accurate, data from groups with agendas require greater scrutiny than data from nonpartisan organizations. 

62. PAYING THE WRITERS. Content Farms (or Content Mills, if you like) pay very little in return for lots of writing. When news writers are focused on cranking out material to feed the beast, the quality of the work suffers. If you discover a site is considered a Content Farm by professionals or pays writers very little for their work, that’s a big red flag. 

63. DIVERSE VOICES. Does the news organization offer diverse perspectives in its articles? A professional outlet will make a concerted effort to give voice to various ethnicities and political persuasions. The more a newsroom focuses on a single viewpoint, the greater the likelihood it will leave out significant perspectives from its news converge.

64. FEEDBACK. Reputable news publishers want readers’ feedback on stories for accuracy and look for help in determining coverage priorities.  

65. AGREEMENT. Do you find yourself agreeing with everything your preferred news outlet says? If so, something is wrong. Find a commentator whose politics don’t match with your own—vary your media consumption to get a balance of perspectives. 

66. EASY STORIES. Suppose a news outlet overlooks stories worth telling in favor of the stories that can be easily told. In that case, it may not have the resources to dive into investigative reporting or may not have the goal of getting beyond the low-hanging fruit.

67. ANONYMOUS SOURCES. Legitimate news outlets will only reference unnamed sources that would endanger them physically or put them in legal jeopardy. Overreliance on anonymous sources should be a red flag to be skeptical of the information, even if it comes from an otherwise trustworthy site.   

68. FRAMEWORK. Some sites have a framework for all their stories (like the College Fix, which is focused on college campus outrage). Articles on these sites may leave out moderating information, so stories lean toward the framework.

 More ways to spot fake news

Enduring mistreatment to justify revenge

A woman will seek psychiatric attention for depression in response to desertion by her husband. She will regale the psychiatrist with an endless tales of repeated mistreatment by her husband.

The therapist discovers that this pattern of mistreatment has existed for twenty years, and that while the poor woman divorced the brute of a husband twice, she also remarried him twice, and that innumerable separations were followed by innumerable reconciliations.

What is going on here? In trying to understand what has happened, the therapists recalls the obvious relish with which the woman had recounted the long history of her husband’s brutality and mistreatment. Suddenly a strange idea begins to dawn: maybe this woman endures her husband’s mistreatment, and even seeks it out, for the very pleasure of talking about it. But what would be the nature of such pleasure? The therapist remembers the woman’s self-righteousness. Could it be that the most important thing in the woman’s life is t have a sense of moral superiority and that in order to maintain this sense she needs to be mistreated? The nature of the pattern now becomes clear. By allowing herself to be treated basely she can feel superior.

If the world is treating us well we have no need to avenge ourselves on it. If seeking revenge is our goal in life, we will have to see to it that the world treats us badly in order to justify our goal. Masochists look on their submission to mistreatment as love, whereas, in fact it is a necessity in their never-ceasing search for revenge and is basically motivated by hatred.

M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled

11 Webinars This Week about AI, Media, Journalism & More

Tue, Aug 6 - Why Can’t I Just Google It?  

What: Join us to lift the curtain and explore the motivations and methods behind this ubiquitous search engine and learn how CloudSource can open the door to 60 million open access and open educational resources.

Who: Maryska Connolly CloudSource, Director of Partnerships & Communications  

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: CloudSource

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Tue, Aug 6 - From Boomers to Zoomers: Cracking the Code of Cross-Generational Engagement 

What: In this session, participants will: Understand the needs and concerns of each generation, gain skills and strategies to engage and train each generation, and learn how immersive and game-based learning increases participation and knowledge retention.

Who: Ellen Burns-Johnson, VP of Learning Strategy - Growth & Strategy Team, ELB Learning 

When: 3 pm, Pacific

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: ELB Learning 

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Tue, Aug 6 - What Journalists Should Know About Election Security: Threats and Mitigations

What: Attendees will learn about: the landscape of threats to the 2024 U.S. elections, what those threats mean practically to the security or integrity of the elections process, what election officials, vendors and the federal government are doing to protect the security and resilience of the U.S. election infrastructure.

Who: Cait Conley is the Senior Advisor to the Director, a role that includes responsibilities supporting CISA’s election security efforts. Conley leads CISA’s work in partnering with state and local election officials to manage and reduce risk to the Nation’s election infrastructure.

When: 12:30 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

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Tue, Aug 6 - The Formula for Social Media Success

What: Learn the key differences between social networks Identify your target market. Set your social media goals Build your content strategy. Create your Ad Strategy Measure your results. Discover must-have social media tools.

Who: Ray-Sidney Smith, Digital Marketing Strategist, Hootsuite Global Brand Ambassador, Google Small Business Advisor for Productivity, and Managing Director of W3C Web Services.

When: 10 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $45

Sponsor: Pennsylvania Business One-Stop Shop

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Tue, Aug 6 - Solutions Journalism 101 Webinar

What: This webinar will explore the ins and outs of solutions journalism, talk about why it’s important, explain key steps in reporting a solutions story, and share tips and resources for journalists interested in investigating how people are responding to social problems. We will also explore additional resources we have on hand for your reporting, including the Solutions Story Tracker, a database of more than 16,000 stories tagged by beat, publication, author, location, and more, a virtual heat map of what’s working around the world.

When: 6 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Solutions Journalism Network

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Wed, Aug 7 - The Role of Visual Content for Journalists and PR Professionals

What: Learn about journalism’s transformation over time and the impact on PR strategies. Video content and how it enhances media coverage Insights about how journalists research the stories they cover.

Who: Peter Banda Assistant News Director, US News Gathering, The Associated Press; Anthony Brito Senior Director, Content Services, The Associated Press

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Associated Press, Business Wire

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Wed, Aug 7 - How to start and grow a newsletter

What: In this session, a few expert newsletter writers and I will dive into how to build a successful newsletter, from launching and finding an audience to growing, monetizing, and maintaining it.

Who: Tim Herrera, author and former editor at The New York Times's Smarter Living; Lyz Lenz of the newsletter Men Yell At Me; and Parker Molloy of The Present Age.

When: 4 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $20

Sponsor: Freelancing with Tim

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Wed, Aug 7 - How to Explain Data Through Visualization and Storytelling      

What: You’ll learn:  Data visualization basics to help get you started. The tools and technologies that promote more effective data use. How successful organizations have made data storytelling a reality.

Who: Trang Tran, Deputy Chief Data Officer, Director Artificial Intelligence COI, Office of Information and Technology, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Prakhar Bajpai, Senior Data Scientist, City of Austin & 2023 NextGen Public Service Award Winner

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: GovLoop

More Info

Thu, Aug 8 - AI + Data Journalism

What: In this participatory practical training session, we’ll work with Data Analyst, Julius.AI, Claude and others to analyze and visualize data. Participants will analyze a dataset of bridge inspection records using these tools. We’ll work with data scrape formulas and tools such as Tabula and PDFtoExcel.com as well.

Who: Mike Reilley Senior Lecturer, University of Illinois-Chicago

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free to members, $25 for nonmembers

Sponsor: Online News Association

More Info

Thu, Aug 8 - Unleashing the Power of Collaboration: A Toolkit for Community Newsrooms

What: The results of in-depth interviews on collaborative journalism invovling 39 outlets, 44% serving local audiences, and how you can develop collaborations that serve your community.

Who: Bridget Thoreson, Chief Project Officer/Dream Wrangler at the social impact firm Hearken

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $35

Sponsor: Online Media Campus

More Info

Sun, Aug 11 - How to write better personal essays

What: Not sure how to turn a personal story into an essay you can sell? Wondering how to structure a personal essay? How do you even pitch one? We’ll cover all those questions and more in this workshop.

Who:  Tim Herrera, author and former editor at The New York Times's Smarter Living; Expert essayist and editor Matt Ortile.

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: $20

Sponsor: Freelancing with Tim

More Info

If the good news is true

If the good news is true, why is not one pleased to hear it?  -Walker Percy

12 Fake News Signals from the Website

Here are some tips for determining if a story is likely reliable. An organization does not need to tick off all these qualifiers in order to be considered authentic and accurate, but the more you see red flags pop up, the more a healthy skepticism is in order.

45. ABOUT US. Check the site’s “About” page for information about who is behind the operation. If you aren’t familiar with the name, look for information about who owns it. For instance, the Russian government owns the RT network. There is a big difference between state media (RT) and public media in a democracy (like the BBC). If a website does not provide information on its mission, staff members, or physical location, it is most likely unreliable. The language used here should be straightforward. If it seems overblown, be skeptical. 

46. ADDRESSES. There should be a mailing address (better yet, a physical address) and an email address. Any site concerned about making factual corrections (and avoiding defamation) needs a way for readers to contact them.  

47. LEGAL NOTICES. Look for a legal section on the website. It may be called a “disclaimer.” Satirical websites sometimes disclose this information in those sections. A site without obvious legal notices (such as EEOC or FCC public file information for TV stations) is a red flag.  

48. GOOGLE “FAKE.” Put the website name in quotes and then add “fake.” Something indicating the site is known for publishing fake news might come up.

49. DATES. Look for a date to make sure the event is recent. Sometimes real stories from several years ago are posted as if they were new. This happens with photos as well. Reliable news outlets want readers to know when the information is posted and will usually display the headline's date. If you are looking at an article on social media, go to the article and look first for a timestamp. Even an old article with good information at the time of publication can be problematic because a study (for instance) may have since been retracted.

50. WEB DESIGN. Poor web design is a red flag. Is the design out of date when compared to other reputable sites? Is the display navigable and professional? 

51. DOWNLOADS. If the website contains advertisements, particularly pop-up ads, asking you to download software, it is likely to be an unreliable.

52. CORRECTIONS. Does the site make corrections as it receives new information, and does it make those corrections obvious? Typically, a note will be added to the top or bottom of a news article when even a factual change is made to a story. In a print or broadcast story, the original error should be clearly stated along with the correct information. The editorial process of a legitimate news organization catches and corrects many errors. If you don’t see corrections from time-to-time on a website, that’s a red flag. Corrections and updates are a part of journalism.  

53. OTHER ARTICLES. Search for the information you know to be false in other articles on the site. Does the site offer quality information on different topics besides the one you are investigating?

54. COMMUNITY POSTS. Some sites allow individuals to post pieces under the banner of the news brand (ex: BuzzFeed Community Posts, Kinja blogs, Forbes blogs). The site editors typically do not vet these posts, making the material suspect.

55. PREVIOUS FAKE NEWS. Do Wikipedia, Snopes, or other such sites show the website in question as having a connection to spreading false information in the past? While Wikipedia is generally pointed in the right direction but can contain some questionable information, the links to other sites it provides can be invaluable in the hunt for the truth.   

56. EMBARGOS. Does the publisher respect embargos? This is common practice in media, where information suppliers ask publishers to hold back new information until a certain time. It is considered common courtesy and accepted practice to honor embargos except in unusual circumstances. Ignoring these expectations could be a sign the publisher is more interested in rushing out material than operating by industry standards.

 More ways to spot fake news

Failure is success

Failure is success if we learn from it. -Malcolm Forbes

Fake News Signals from Website Addresses

Here are some tips for determining if a story is likely reliable. An organization does not need to tick off all these qualifiers in order to be considered authentic and accurate, but the more you see red flags pop up, the more a healthy skepticism is in order.

38. DOT-GOV. Does the site have a dot-gov address? Generally, data provided by government organizations are more trustworthy. Official news agencies are often the starting place for establishing the truth of a matter.   

39. DOT-EDU. Does the site have a dot-edu address? Generally, data provided by university research laboratories are reliable.

40. LO & DOT-CO. Websites ending with odd letters like “lo” (such as “Newslo”) or “.co” could be a red flag for fake news sites. For instance, abcnews.com.co is not the actual URL (web address) for the real ABC News. What looks like an .edu domain, followed by .co or “lo” is likely a fake or deceptive site. Sites like Clone Zone make this easy to do.

41. COM.COM.  Another way to trick readers is to add a “com” so the web address almost looks right. For instance, “USATodaycom.com.”

42. PERSONAL BLOGS. A domain such as “.wordpress” or “blogger” usually signifies it’s a personal blog rather than a news source.

43. COUNTRY-CODE TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS. The end of some website addresses is a clue to the site’s originating country. For instance, “dot-au” means the site is based in Australia, and “dot-ng” means the site is based in Nigeria. Suppose you find a supposed article about your community on a website coming from a country far away. In that case, it probably means the writer isn’t likely to have access to the necessary sources to write a competent story. 

44. ODD NAMES. Odd domain names generally equal odd and rarely truthful news.

More on spotting fake news

How long does it take to Read a Person’s Emotions?

Psychology professor William Ickes found that our ability to read strangers during a six-minute interaction is limited, but other experiments showed that we have much greater accuracy when reading our friends’ behavior. That’s not really shocking, but what is surprising is that when study subjects spent just a little more time with a stranger, their ability to read that person was just as good as their ability to read close friends. The magic time span? Thirty minutes. Time, or at least the amount of information acquired over time, is crucial to empathy. That is not only the case for real-life encounters, but also for stories.

Lene Bech Sillesen writing in the Columbia Journalism Review