Fake News

Like imposter accounts, fake news sites can use a similar web address of official sources or be completely independent sites propagating false information for political or financial gain. These sites can mimic official sites by using similar, misspelled web addresses or end with an extension to the top level URL (such as “.com.co”). The Daily Dot, a website that monitors internet culture and online life began monitoring and reporting on fake news sites by creating a list of known fake news websites shared through facebook (now Meta). To see an example of the magnitude of fake sites, view their list here.

Fake news sites will often serve as a nexus point for the dissemination of false information through social media shares. While they can mimic authentic news sites, the sources they provide and how they use them are questionable. Some sites will attempt to bring validity to their articles by providing a mix of authoritative sources, such as the ones provided through Cyclone Search, with sources that are less reliable to bolster their trustworthiness. Consider this example article from David Wolfe’s website:

Himalayan Salt Lemonade: Stop Migraines Fast
 

And let’s look at some claims from the article:

The first claim that dehydration is a compounding issue is supported by referencing a trusted scholarly journal. A preview of the article presents several inconsistencies:

               -Nowhere in this article preview mentions this statement or that this was a specific finding from the research.

               -The Rationale section of the article preview acknowledges that a “larger methodologically sound randomized control trial is needed to confirm efficacy”.

               -The Comments section (from the authors) of the article urges readers and other scientists to “use this study as a teaching tool and to learn from the shortcomings in this trial”.

The authors of the article are telling their prospective readers of the value of their study but recognize its shortcomings and need for further follow-up research.

The second claim of U.S. citizens are probably chronically dehydrated is supported by a link to a hydration website aimed at selling supplements to combat dehydration. Their citation to support this is unable to be retrieved online. However, a recently updated article provided by the National Institute of Health states that this claim is unsupported in medical literature.  

By citing a mix of scholarly and popular resources in this fashion, the author of the article attempts to lend credibility to their fictitious arguments.