© Leah Mills - ReutersDan Coates speaks on Capitol Hill on Feb. 13.
The lead story on A1 of the Union-Tribune on Wednesday was U.S. intelligence officials predicting Russian meddling to occur again in the midterm elections this fall.
"We expect Russia to continue using propaganda, social media, false-flag personas sympathetic spokespeople and other means of influence to try to exacerbate social and political fissures in the United States, Dan Coates, the director of national intelligence, said during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday, according to a New York Times story published in the U-T.
Based on what happened in the 2016 elections and the warnings last week, consumers of news need to be wary of what they are reading in social media, on the web and in items forwarded in emails.
To increase residents' media literacy in this day of fake news infiltrating our society, the San Diego Library is holding a four-part series on the media called "Breaking News @ the Library." The library and the U-T joined for the first one held Jan. 31. The library was one of five systems in the country to receive a grant from the American Library Association to hold the talks on media literacy.
The series' second talk, titled "News Literacy and You," is set for Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Scripps Miramar Ranch Library, 10301 Scripps Lake Drive.
"Two librarians will discuss how to assess news and journalism in the 21st century media landscape of fake news, sensationalism and the 24 hour news cycle," the library said in a description of the talk. "You'll be trained to take a critical eye toward the news and be aware of cognitive bias, look out for multiple sources, think about verification and accountability and learn other important ways to process current events."
In the Jan. 31 event, named "Citizen Journalism," U-T Editorial and Opinion Director Matthew T. Hall presented some infamous examples of fake news (such as a story before the presidential election about the pope supporting Donald Trump) and then 11 ways news consumers can check the veracity of stories they're reading or seeing.
Here are the 11 items. (My comments are in italics.)
Read beyond the headline: What does the entire story say? Is there an agenda? Does the headline oversell or overhype the story? (Headlines online are meant to grab you so you'll click on the article. Exaggeration and downright falsehoods are commonly used. Those postings have no accountability, unlike the mainstream press.)
Check the date: The reposting of old stories may or may not be relevant to current events.
Consider the source: Look into the site, its mission and its contact information. Inspect the URL of the story to ensure legitimacy. (I saw a post last week on YouTube of a guy wearing a microphone headset sitting behind a computer screen with an American flag as a backdrop. He was "reporting" on the school shooting in Florida. I had no clue who this person was.)
Comment: Not knowing who the person was doesn't mean that the report was any less legitimate. With so much of the mainstream themselves reporting fake news, one can't assume a large well known outlet will be accurate in their reporting.
Check the author: Perform a web browser search of the author's name to see if he/she is real and credible.
Ask yourself if it's intended as a joke: Was the story meant to be satire or comical? Consider the source and the author to be sure. (The Onion has great satire, and there's no doubt that it's comedy.)
Look for supporting sources: Click hyperlinked background sources to see if they support the story. Are there source documents attached? Are there related links? (Many mainstream media outlets will post source material used in stories.)
Comment: As do many alternative outlets. And there are also many mainstream outlets that don't.
See if the website annotates corrections and/or updates for its stories. (This is something only done by legitimate, professional news organizations. It's a matter of accountability.)
Comment: There isn't much accountability in the mainstream media. For example, CNN's correction in this blunder.
See if other legitimate news outlets have covered the story or the subject of it: Most big stories will be picked up elsewhere. A quick search is worth your time.
Check your biases: Consider if your beliefs affect your judgment about the story.
Consult experts: Familiarize yourself with fact-checking websites or ask a friend, family member or librarian. (Check out snopes.com as a fact-checker.)
Distinguish between an objective news report and opinion: Opinion pieces are editorials, columns, commentaries and reviews. They have a point of view. News and analysis is reported objectively, reflecting all sides of every issue. (The mainstream media need to improve in this area. Readers have pointed out to the Readers' Rep sentences in wire-service political reports that blur the lines between news and analysis.)
Comment: By that definition, the mainstream media has a long way to go before they can be considered 'news' and 'analysis'. One only needs to look at the media's attacks on everything Russian to see how opinion is passed off as 'news and analysis'.