Radio Islam International | 05 April 2017

South Africa and the world currently find themselves confronting some of the most daunting challenges faced in decades. Faced with poor leadership, right-wing populism, unethical business practices and mass killing, ordinary citizens are now thirsty as ever for information and updates to get to grips with the phenomena shaping their world, in the interests of making informed and balanced decisions.

Unfortunately, with the opening wide of the floodgates of information, so too have the sluice gates of misinformation cranked ajar, and with it drift comes a host of dangerous consequences.

Fake news is now an everyday phenomenon, and its distortions present the real risk of drumming up hysteria, causing pain and suffering to people mentioned in them, hardening stereotypes and fomenting violence.

It is lamentable to witness so many considered to be more than ably literate and educated still falling prey to this ominous trend. Even worse, their subsequent sharing of such stories only serves to proliferate the fraud and entrench the confusion.

Head of policy at Media Monitoring Africa Thandi Smith says there are 5 signs that people should be on the look out for in determining whether a story constitutes fake news:

1). Check the URL and make sure it is in line with the news page or media house. A fake news site can sometimes have a number in it instead of letters to create confusion.

• This is a URL for a fake site http://t1meslive.co.za/
• This is the legitimate URL for Times Live http://www.timeslive.co.za/

2). Check the spelling of the social media account name. Although it might look legitimate, the accounts are often not spelled correctly, or have alternative spellings.

3). A genuine article will usually have sources and people that you can research. Google the names. A fake news site will have anonymous sources.

4). Reputable media houses will have credible adverts on their pages. Fake news sites often have pornographic adverts. That should raise red flags.

5). Research the author of the article you’re reading. Use Google to see other works produced by the journalist named. That will give you an indication of the authenticity of the story.

Africa Check has provided further tools to enable online users to become less susceptible in falling for fake news and becoming proactive to stem this tide of misinformation.

The fact-checking service has listed the following sites, which it says a known fake news sites that South Africans should be wary of:

• Live Monitor
• iMzansi
• Mzansi LIVE
• African News Updates
• Mzansi Stories
• News24-TV
• CitySun
• Gossip Mill Mzansi
• Pretorialive
• South Africa Latest News
• National News Bulletin