A story on a troll site could very well be true, but it is the overall site itself that is the problem, not just an individual story. That's how a lot of troll sites work so they have an air of legitimacy. They mix together true, half true, and completely false stories, give them a left or right-handed slant, and post them in social media or other online groups.
This is a huge part of the reason we got where we are right now, with an ignorant moron in the White House who presents himself that very same way. All that is needed are groups of people who are looking only for what they want to see and are too busy or naive to keep from being hoodwinked.
To keep from being fooled, you have to look at things like:
- Is the story's author is clearly identified with a first name, a last name and maybe even a brief bio?
- Is the story dated? This is a huge and easily spotted RED FLAG. No reputable media site will ever post an undated story unless somebody made an error.
- Does the piece cite legitimate sources to back it up? Using things like tweets as references even works if the tweets have links to legitimate sources.
- Is the story based on old news? Sites designed to inflame will often regurgitate old stories and use headlines that make them appear to be breaking news.
- Can you find the news anywhere on a legitimate news site? If so, is the story you are checking out copied word-for-word (but not quoted or cited) from parts of legitimate stories?
- Is it actually a story or is it SATIRE? Sometimes it is very hard to tell. Most satire sites identify themselves as such, but not always very clearly. There are also "hybrid" sites that contain both satire and real news. Keep your eyes wide open when a story is on a site that is new to you.
- What is the quality of the writing (or lack thereof)? I have seen a lot of troll sites where the writing is absolutely laughable and looks like it was obviously written by somebody who doesn't have full command of the English language.
- What are the other stories on the site like? Are there wacky conspiracy theories or other dubious looking stories?
- How well does the site itself explains its mission, origins and ownership?
- Find the WHOIS information regarding who registered the site's domain name (abcdefg.com) and when it was registered. Google "WHOIS" and you will find lots of sites where you can look this info up.
Note from the author:
I recently got my bachelors degree in the Technical Communications field and I did some pretty extensive study on this issue in the process. It is imperative to the survival of our democracy that we educate ourselves and do not let ourselves become easy targets for the master-manipulators who are behind some of this fake and misleading stuff. It is NOT just fun and games; they have an agenda.
