This Game Teaches You To Not Be Stupid By Spotting Fake News

                         But they have so much in common!

While scrolling on your favorite social media site you see a story that gets your attention for whatever reason. For good or bad or unbelievable, you just have to let everyone know about it! So, you hit that share button after reading (or maybe without reading, as some are guilty of doing) without doing your homework and you find out the story is a bunch of bunk.

 

Congratulations Stupid! You just shared Fake News!

 

Now more than ever it seems like we’re being bombarded with media that skews the truth for multiple reasons. To add to the confusion, we’re even being told the reputable news sources are now fake! You need to check your sources to be a part of the solution and not the problem, but that’s getting a little tricky these days.

Enter Maggie Farley.

Maggie is a veteran reporter and says that fake news has been around long before last year, but it was during the 2016 election that the term really started picking up traction. She told NPR in an interview that people have always been trying to manipulate information for their own ends, but it’s only recently that its reaches for financial gain or political power have become so extreme. She’s calls it “Fake news with a capital F.” To help people avoid being duped, she created Facticious.

 

                                                                  I’m swiping right because that sounds bitchin’!

The game is simple in concept: you’re just trying to figure out which news articles are real and which are a steaming pile of lies. Similar to the dating app Tinder but with less f***ing, you swipe right on your phone if you think an article is legit or left if you think it’s fake news (computer users have to settle for clicking). This tests your ability to spot the giveaways of BS stories like bias/sloppy writing and bogus news sites. The game was originally created for middle and high schoolers, but the feedback Maggie got quickly made her realize the target audience should be everyone.

Think you can spot fake news with ease? Put up or shut up by checking out Facticious for yourself!