Spotting Fake News

I recently saw Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward speak at Macomb Community College. It was really, really great. However, I was disappointed with the fact that they were not answering the audience questions directly, or very well. They dropped into stories a bunch and that was totally awesome.

The question that irked me the most that was asked and not answered: How can you tell if something is fake news?

The question is painfully relevant and these two titans of journalism and reporting just did not have an answer beyond "I don't know."

Here are some of my suggestions:

1. "Call a librarian," was the suggestion from my pal that attended Bernstein/Woodward. We're trained to spot fake news and can help you out.
2. Check where the source appears on this chart. The higher and more toward the center, the better quality and less bias you can expect.
3. A couple quick tells are also looking at the "About" or "Contact" section. If neither section exists, that's a red flag. 
4. No bylines - no deal. If you are reading stuff that doesn't have an author attributed to it, move along. Any dope, malicious person, talking head or other jerky can plop anything online, so if you can't track where it's coming from, it's probably junk.
5. Memes aren't news. That's it. Do better.