Data suggest that 90 per cent of Canadians admit to falling for fake news. So, the non-profit Canadian Journalism Foundation has launched a new website to help and encourage people to check whether items they see are legitimate.
Respected news personalities feature in several videos that offer simple fact-checking techniques, sometimes in a humourous way. The site also offers useful tips, links to fact-checking sites and a fun, fake news quiz.
In this video, news commentator Supriya Dwivedi of Global News demands the phone from a woman who is about to share a fake news item. (Canadian Journalism Foundation)
Sometimes it’s hard to tell
Data collected by the foundation suggest that fake news stories spread six times faster than the truth and only one third of Canadians regularly try to confirm if news that they see is real. Another 40 per cent report finding it difficult to tell the difference between truth and misinformation.
The campaign is called Doubt It? and it will be promoted with a digital ad campaign and public service announcements.
In this video from the Canadian Journalism Foundation, Peter Mansbridge, a highly respected and now retired news anchor reacts to talk that involves fake news.
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