From hoaxes to political propaganda, we’ve probably all received alarmist emails from relatives and scrolled past disinformation on Facebook and Twitter. The rise of fake news and sensational, unverified stories published online has created a genuine problem with the credibility of the internet.
While social media companies claim to be unable to stem the tide of disinformation published and shared on their platforms, there are others who believe helpful solutions are not so hard to implement.
One such tool to combat the tide of fake news is “B.S. Detector.” This free plug-in “searches all links on a given webpage for references to unreliable sources, checking against a manually compiled list of domains. It then provides visual warnings about the presence of questionable links or the browsing of questionable websites.”
B.S. Detector provides a variety of credibility warnings including:
- Fake News: Sources that fabricate stories out of whole cloth with the intent of pranking the public.
- Satire: Sources that provide humorous commentary on current events in the form of fake news.
- Extreme Bias: Sources that traffic in political propaganda and gross distortions of fact.
- Conspiracy Theory: Sources that are well-known promoters of kooky conspiracy theories.
- Rumor Mill: Sources that traffic in rumors, innuendo, and unverified claims.
- State News: Sources in repressive states operating under government sanction.
- Junk Science: Sources that promote scientifically dubious claims.
- Hate Group: Sources that actively promote racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination.
The plug-in may not be comprehensive or perfect, but it will help raise a red flag when you come across suspect information online. You can learn more and install the plug-in here:
