April 08--Hoaxes on the Internet have a tendency to spread like wildfire, thanks to the reactionary nature of social media. In the time it takes you to type "OMG look!" your news feed is suddenly inundated with uncorroborated clickbait that is actually false. Onion headlines these are not: They're kind of believable until you actually do some digging.
That was the case this morning, when I booted up my computer and took to Facebook in between emails. One headline caught my eye because it was so local. "Samuel L. Jackson explains why he's moving to Gary, Indiana, may run for mayor." Naturally, I clicked, but a quick read of the piece raised some questions.
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The site, KNP 7, "your local news source," didn't include a dateline or byline for the piece. When did Jackson announce this, and whom should I contact to follow up with questions? Secondly, the "article" from which the interview supposedly stems is never mentioned or linked to. Is it a reputable source?
And finally, the kicker: KNP 7's About Us page states prominently that "KNP 7 News is a fantasy news site. All news articles on knp7.com are satire or pure fantasy." And while this is upfront and center, available for anyone to discover (seriously, it's right there), how many unsuspecting readers are going to click on the About Us page?
The Internet hoax is not a new phenomenon, and this Jackson-Gary news is just the latest addition. In fact, just last week, a number of blogs ran the exact same news about Jackson, swapping Detroit for Gary. Hoax-debunking site Snopes has chronicled this string of stories about celebrities, from Justin Bieber to Tom Cruise, as "Celebrity X moves to City Y." If you were to believe these hoaxes, you'd think that Hollywood's A-listers were leaving the city in droves. Alas, many of the sites generating this false news -- and disseminating it virally on social media -- are turning a quick buck, as evidenced by the loads of advertising links on the resulting Web pages. Your friend (or you!) may have innocently shared a piece of supposed news while supporting a sneaky racket; commenting on the item just adds to its virality.
The good news? A quick Google search will tell you right away if this "news" is real or fake. So remember, before you share a story about Adele moving to Downers Grove, check your sources.
jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com
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