Knowing Neurons
Did You Know?Science Policy

Should you trust that article you’re reading?

It’s easy to find information on the internet — especially information that confirms what you already believe to be true. Through search engine bias, your Facebook newsfeed bubble, and confirmation bias, we can unknowingly surround ourselves with a cozy blanket of comforting information. Whether or not this information is true, however, is a different story. Check out this infographic for some strategies for how to know if what you’re reading is true.

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References:

Davis, W. (2016, December 05). Fake Or Real? How To Self-Check The News And Get The Facts. Retrieved May 08, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/05/503581220/fake-or-real-how-to-self-check-the-news-and-get-the-facts

How to tell fake news from real news. (2017, January 23). Retrieved May 08, 2017, from http://blog.ed.ted.com/2017/01/12/how-to-tell-fake-news-from-real-news/

Lynch, M. P. (2016, March 09). Googling Is Believing: Trumping the Informed Citizen. Retrieved May 08, 2017, from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/googling-is-believing-trumping-the-informed-citizen/?_r=0

Spinney, L. (2017). How Facebook, fake news and friends are warping your memory. Nature, 543(7644), 168-170. doi:10.1038/543168a, from http://www.nature.com/news/how-facebook-fake-news-and-friends-are-warping-your-memory-1.21596

Stanford History Education Group. (2014). Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning. 6th Annual International Conference on Computer Science Education: Innovation & Technology (CSEIT 2015). doi:10.5176/2251-2195_cseit15.30. Retrieved from: https://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/V3LessonPlans/Executive%20Summary%2011.21.16.pdf.

6 Quick Ways to Spot Fake News. (2016, January 21). Retrieved May 08, 2017, from http://www.snopes.com/2016/01/21/6-quick-ways-spot-fake-news/

Author

  • Kayleen Schreiber

    Kayleen is obsessed with the brain. After majoring in neuroscience at Vanderbilt University, she went straight to a PhD program in neuroscience at the University of Iowa. She currently studies how our brains process speech. She measures electrical changes produced by the brain to understand how the gender of a person talking influences how we hear their speech. Outside the lab, she works to get others excited about science and occasionally plays the bassoon.

Kayleen Schreiber

Kayleen is obsessed with the brain. After majoring in neuroscience at Vanderbilt University, she went straight to a PhD program in neuroscience at the University of Iowa. She currently studies how our brains process speech. She measures electrical changes produced by the brain to understand how the gender of a person talking influences how we hear their speech. Outside the lab, she works to get others excited about science and occasionally plays the bassoon.