It’s been made clear some Americans across the country are in a state of election shock.
Streets across the nation are filled with protestors and activists, and empty classrooms hold the seats of the students who walked out of class.
Whether or not your chosen candidate won or lost, and despite what political party you affiliate with, in the end the Internet is becoming riddled with memes, opinions, and articles all claiming to deliver some form of valid news update.
Sadly, there is a string of false news circulating and it has its readers in full belief of its content.
The fact checking website Snopes has been helping news consumers separate the real from the fake since 1995.
And some of the most recent stories circulating around anti-Trump protests and civil unrest have been put through the fact-checking ringer.
On November 11 a photo surfaced of a violent protest. After some digging Snopes found this photo to actually be from 2012, and was captured during an economic protest in Greece.
On November 10 a video went viral of a white man being beaten up by a group of black people for allegedly voting for Trump.
Snopes discovered the video was indeed real, but the incident stemmed from a traffic altercation, not because the victim was assumed to be a Trump supporter.
Even The New York Times recently published an article explaining the difficult challenge the media has with overcoming fake news.
False stories have circulated around Facebook, Twitter and other various social media platforms.
The outcome is millions are being exposed to news that is fabricated, and readers are not able to distinguish the good from the bad apples.
As the country settles, fake news will undoubtedly continue to circulate. For readers, especially those who receive most of their news content from places like Facebook and Twitter, don’t hesitate to question the story you are reading.
Do some digging, research and fact check. Sadly, there are people out there who want to keep the fear alive.
Utilize sites like Snopes and make sure your news is coming from a credible outlet.
And remember, just because someone photoshopped a picture into a meme doesn’t make the caption true.
