I was unaware that there were websites and games to help me process and detect misinformation. what an incredible tool they are. Anything that can help me navigate the evolving media landscape is always welcomed.
One website that proves to be an amazing resource is resource and is beyond educational is RumorGuard from news literacy roject. The website Collects socail media posts and runs them through through misinformation checkpoints to debunk any false news being spread.
The website offers a number of ways of fact checking social media posts. The landing page features the most recent stories that have been debunked. It also explains the 5 factors used to determine the validity of a post.
You can also check by topic using a hashtag that is trending to see stories that have been debunked using these 5 factors.
This website really helps you navigate the plethora of claims and stories found all over social media. It also helps explain how these factors are taken into consideration and how it impacts misinformation spread.
There are other website that also help curb the spread of misinformation in a more direct way. Politifact uses a simple “false to true” meter at the end of their headline that tells the reader from the get go what type of story it is. The Washington post has a feature that focuses on fact checking politicians and the claims they make. All these websites are wonderful resources.
now…if you want to play devils advocate and you want to experience first hand the ease of spreading misinformation…look no further…
Fake it to make it!!! is an online game that help educate you on how easy it is to make false claims and how people benefit.
The game starts off easy enough. you select a financial goal to reach by creating a fake news website.
The game tells you to start with the small goal of $200, but i was a bit overzealous and ended up choosing the $400 option.
This is when the game begins. you build your website. You choose the name, the logo, a theme, and how you will monetize the website. The only option you have at the start of the game is monetization by advertisement, there are options for selling personal information and installing malware that you can unlock as you go. this is already too real for me.
through out the game you are given tasks to complete. For example: raise the credibility score of your website, publish a story that will cause fear, write a story that will anger a particular segment of people, or share a story that makes people happy. The more your site is visited and the more of your stories that are shared the more money you make. Easy peasy…right…
it took me 3 hours…3 real human hours to hit my goal of $400. Why? because at first i resisted and did not want to play the game. I was writing and sharing feel good stories. Stories about kittens and baby names. I was getting no hits and was loosing money. I had to take out 2 loans to cover me operating costs.
eventually i wised up and decided to go full villain. i started sharing and creating stories that had little no one validity and had high drama attached. then and only then they i start getting traffic.
Eventually i hit my goal of $400 and I could continue playing the game or stop. I stopped. It was too much. it felt so horrible coming up with made up topics or “facts” to keep making money. that’s when the realization hit that people do this for a living. i was playing a game but there are people out there that need to do this in order to drive misinformation and line their pockets or the pockets of others. I also realized how important it is to have fact checking websites like the ones i’ve mentioned earlier. this was a game but the truth is, it is also our reality.
There Is Something In the Err... 