Platforms are launching ways to help Canadians spot fake news during the federal election and avoid spreading it.
New Media Canada launched the SPOT Fake News Online campaign that prompts Canadians to ask four questions when consuming news online.
Canadians should ask the following:
- S: Is this a credible Source? Check the source of the article – and be skeptical.
- P: Is the Perspective biased? Think critically and look for varying viewpoints on an issue.
- O: Are Other sources reporting the same story? Be your own fact-checker and verify the validity of the story.
- T: Is the story Timely? Check the date the story was published – sometimes, stories use old information to take advantage of a timely occurrence.
The campaign will be promoted through a video and is funded by the Government of Canada.
The CBC also has a chat bot that will help users find fake news.
The chat bot can be launched by clicking here, but you can also activate it by searching ‘CBC News’ on Facebook Messenger, then tapping ‘Get started’ to speak with the bot.
CBC said in an article that the chat bot will “guide you through five weeks of learning about deepfakes, altered photos and articles that may look like they’re from news sites – but aren’t.”
Here are the different things you can learn about each week:
- Week one: Determining trustworthy sources.
- Week two: Spotting suspicious articles.
- Week three: Manipulated photos and videos.
- Week four: Deepfakes.
- Week five: How to avoid spreading disinformation.
The initiative to launch the bot is part of CBC News’ broader attempt to educate people about fake news and disinformation.
“The goal is to give you tools to spot it and hopefully avoid sharing untrue information,” the article read.
Source: New Media Canada, CBC
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