Evidence-based Journalism: At their best, news articles present information based on carefully researched sources, include multiple points of view, and reproduce quotations accurately and paraphrase honestly to express the sentiments of sources. Journalists follow specific standards for collecting information, consult editors to ensure these standards are followed, and print retractions or corrections in response to errors.
Opinion or Editorial Content: Opinion articles and editorials have long been a staple of news reporting. Ideally, such content is marked as “opinion” or “editorial” by its section appearance or digital tagging; however, many news publications, particularly online, do not sufficiently distinguish between evidence-based journalism, which follows strict editorial standards, and opinion content, which expresses the positions of the author, but may not necessarily present specific facts from reliable sources. While opinion articles are not, as a class, deceptive or problematic, readers should be attuned to the important differences between reliably-sourced reporting and opinion content.
Deceptive News: Deceptive news sources may possess all of the trappings of evidence-based journalism but may engage in subtle practices to favor certain social, political, economic, or cultural positions. While all news articles contain some degree of bias, honest journalists follow practices to reduce that bias. Deceptive news, in contrast, may include out-of-context or heavily edited quotations, may present only one side or position on a topic, or may exaggerate or emphasize facts that fit their narrative while cutting or ignoring facts that do not. Many news websites target specific, narrow populations and present coverage with the specific intent to reinforce their audience’s preexisting beliefs, often at the expense of a thorough treatment of the facts. They may rely upon the silos of social media to spread. This occurs across issues and political perspectives.
Satirical or Comedic News: Many articles contain fabricated news created to be humorous rather than deceptive. The Onion, for example, posts falsified articles that parody popular news topics (articles that have sometimes been mistaken for real journalism). While satire and comedy have a long history in political discourse, readers should be careful to identify news sites that exaggerate, fabricate, or deceptively edit the news. Feel free to enjoy satirical sites—just don’t mistake them for journalism!
Hoaxes: Often spread through social media, hoaxes, which usually take the form of memes, short viral videos, or other easily shareable content, often present small bits of emotionally charged content designed to attract clicks or promote social media accounts. If the information shared on social media can’t be confirmed by a news site with editorial standards and a clear history of fact-based reporting, it’s likely a hoax or exaggeration.
Explicitly Fabricated News: These articles may be entirely fictional or hyper-exaggerated. These stories often fall into the category of “click bait,” meaning that they were written solely to attract website visits in order to make money off of advertising. Such sites often rely on social media to spread their articles and usually lack many of the features of journalism, such as publication on a site with a reputation for journalistic work, editorial oversight, and careful sourcing. Occasionally, these sites attempt to mimic the look of credible news sources.