Ye Olde Fake News

…and ways to combat the modern version

Photo by Mattias Diesel on Unsplash

Fake news is nothing new.

In ye olde days, British history was changed by the public’s batpoop belief that King James II’s son was an imposter smuggled in in a warming pan.

It was a whole thing to keep Catholics off the throne — which it did, we ended up with a revolution/coup.

Nowadays, we know that lies will literally travel around the world while the truth is still getting its metaphorical boots on.

…So what can we do to tackle fake news?

• Basic media literacy — not as easy as it sounds, because those in power often aren’t keen on this, but so important.
• Be willing to change your opinions.
• Use reliable fact-checkers — I use Snopes, but there are others available.
• Think about the source of the info — is it reliable? Biased? Just your uncle George having a rant?
• Remind yourself that fake news is out there.

Hope that helps!

#WritingPrompt: how will you tackle fake news ? from the lovely Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她):