Fake news is everywhere. But what actually is fake news?

In order to answer these pressing questions, Olin Library librarian Melissa Vetter and Information Literacy Coordinator Amanda Albert held a fake news workshop Sept. 19, addressing the definition of fake news, how people can be “information literate” and how various sources can help us spot fake news.

As information professionals, they have a strong personal interest in providing students with the most reliable and trustworthy sources.

“Deep down in our training and essence it is about getting the accurate, reliable information, and that is what librarians are predisposed to,” said Vetter, the library’s Biology, Psychological & Brain Sciences and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology subject librarian. “We hope people can be better consumers for information and they can be more confident in reading news and dealing with data.”

Focusing on teaching students to spot fake news, the workshop covered what fake news looks like and resources to navigate it.

“We have a lot of people, not just students, who get news from news media feeds,” Vetter said. “For example, Twitter feeds, probably Snapchat or Facebook. So we want to make sure that people know that there are tools out there they can use to say, ‘Okay, hold on, is this news actually true?’”

About five people attended and participated in multiple polls during the workshop, answering questions including, “Have you ever shared fake news unknowingly?” and “Have you ever purposely shared fake news?”

Vetter expressed that although combatting fake news is difficult, she finds it important to educate others on ensuring the credibility of sources.

“For me, some fake news is written to deceive other people, and that’s troubling to me as an information professional,” she said. “I try to combat that the best way I can to make sure people know fake news is happening, and we can be better about determining what is credible and what is real.”

With this goal in mind, Vetter and Albert provided workshop attendees with guides on defining and spotting fake news. To conclude the workshop, Vetter commented on the power of fake news to increase dangerous divisions in our society.

“It’s easy to misunderstand people who have a different mindset than myself,” she said. “If I buy into some of these fake stories, it can further divide us, and that’s happening around the country, so I would like to combat that…For me, I want to make sure we can speak in a common language [and] that we are all talking about the same facts. It’s okay to disagree because we come from different worlds.”

Vetter and Albert plan to continue hosting this event twice a semester as long as people remain interested in the topic. The next workshop will take place on Oct.ober 31.

“The workshop went really well,” Albert said. “It was our first time running it, and I really enjoyed the discussion we had as well as hearing everyone else’s tips for spotting fake news. I’m looking forward to the next one!”