How To Spot Fake News (7 Simple Tips)

There's been a lot of talk about Facebook taking steps to weed out "fake news." When we think of the subject, we often think of political news. Though this blog describes fake news made for political agendas, there is a lot of fake news out there that isn't political - "Milk is Bad For Humans But the Big Dairy Corporations Don't Want You To Know It Because the Moon Landing Was Fake!" - but can still be scrutinized with the following tips. So, here are some characteristics that can help you spot a fake news story, or an opinion piece that calls itself news. Little things we often don't consider:

1. The article's headline is in all-caps.
2. The "news site"'s Facebook page has a profile picture of Ronald Reagan, often displayed in front of an American flag.
(This is sometimes also true with a picture of Bernie Sanders in front of an American flag, but it's far more common with President Reagan's mug...I can't fathom why that is.)
3. The article's headline is a run-on sentence. Ex: "Obama Bans the Word Christmas From Military Christmas Ceremonies to Destroy the First Amendment and Sacrifice America to Muslim Agenda Hey Mickey You're So Fine You're So Fine You Blow My Mind Hey Mickey"
4. The article's headline has more than one exclamation point. Or in many cases, a single exclamation point.
5. Multiple spelling errors.
6. A news article's headline should sum up the event it describes in the most succinct way possible, not give vague clues and hints as to what the reader will read: "You'll Never Believe What Kind of Scandal Ted Cruz is Involved In," or "Lindsey Graham Just Scored a Victory For Lower Taxes in the Most Epic Way Possible." These kinds of headlines are also strongly suspect.
7. The article's story has not been corroborated by a source not displaying the above symptoms. This is very important. In fact, it should be your only tip.

The First Amendment is a great blessing we enjoy in our country, but it does not protect against slander. And, as I learned from watching Judge Mathis, in order for something to be slanderous, it must 1.) be proven to be untrue, and 2.) cause damage to the reputation of the person it addresses. I urge us all to think of that the next time we're about to share a "news" article without at least a Snopes check.
The inevitable reply to that might be, "I think the fact-checkers should be fact-checked." Yes, I too find facts to be terribly inconvenient when they rain on some little part of my agenda. Like when I didn't believe in peanut butter. I was confronted with undeniable evidence that peanut butter exists, and I checked the fact-checkers, desperately trying to prove them wrong, even if it took unscrupulous articles to pacify my denial. But, "facts are stubborn things."
Peanut butter is real.

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak." -Matthew 12:36