Do you think you can tell whether a news story is real or fake?

Polls

22nd June 2018

ONLY 2% of children and young people in the UK are able to tell if they’re reading a real news story – or if they’ve fallen for fake news.

With so many different news sources for people to get information from these days, it’s thought young people are struggling to identify when they are reading fake news. This is especially true when looking at online sources and social media.

The Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills in Schools found that half of teachers believe pupils aren’t taught enough about it in school. Lots also felt that fake news was having a negative impact on young people, making them more anxious, affecting their self-esteem and changing the way they view the world.

The report shows how important it is for young people to learn critical literacy skills to spot real or fake news.

To help with the problem, First News has created a special Fake News edition coming out this September. It’ll give you a fascinating insight into the history of news reporting, the media today and the important links between a free press and democracy.

Do you think you can tell whether a news story is real or fake?

80 Comments

Leave a Reply

boyhornet · 7 years ago

FIRST TO COMMENT XD no because the fake news makers are very clever

ltarling66 · 7 years ago

I can tell the difference between fake and real, because those people who post the fake news, make it so we believe in it. We should be believing the BBC News and other places that tell us the real truth.

fresh · 7 years ago

Yes because if you look who has made it you will understand

skyangel · 7 years ago

Same. I read so many newspapers that I can easily detect a fake news story

skyangel · 7 years ago

Fake news is very clever but in my opinion, they drop a few hints to show they are lying

i_care · 7 years ago

Fake news is very hard to spot. It is getting, thanks to the use of social media, increasingly hard to spot whether something is true or fake.

plane · 7 years ago

Yes because it might admit it

cuddlykid · 7 years ago

It is definitely hard to find the diffrence between real and fake news because nowadays people don't double check what they read

my_life · 7 years ago

No, because they are really hard to spot, and sometimes they can do really clever ( realestic ) ones.

natalija · 7 years ago

Yes, it is quite easy as they do sound very wrong and there are some clues that show it is fake.

claudine · 7 years ago

I only get my news from very trusted resources like First News!

claudine · 7 years ago

Sometimes my friends tell stories that they've heard on social media and it can make it hard for me to decide if what they've been told is true!

swace · 7 years ago

I think that fake news in papers is over taken by the BBC news and programmes like that. At first people could fall for fake news, but most often, the news that is fake is hard to believe and so you sort of know it is fake. I also always ask my parents about anything I am concerned about.

darjap · 7 years ago

In my opinion, fake news can be hard and easy to tell whether it is fake, since some facts or opinions they put in can be recognised as fake, however they are not easy to identify.

itzzelz · 7 years ago

Fake news reporters can be so sneaky that it is almost impossible to see if it is fake. Only 0.01% of the time I actually realise it is fake.

tkfox · 7 years ago

I cannot tell the difference between fake and real news. The world today is wacky and weird, and some things that you hear that sounds like a complete lie ends up being true, and fake news writers bank on the fact that some people are used to weird news.

uni_savage · 7 years ago

I can tell whether news reports are fake or not because when I read news, I read different types of papers so if I read an artical in one of the newspapers and see a similar one, I know that the most unbelievable one is fake. I also know because if it sounds like nonsense and nobody is talking about it!?

tabbycat29 · 7 years ago

I can’t spot fake news over real news, but I would like to know how to. Also, fake news can be spread very easily nowadays through social media etc so it is even harder to notice.

tomboycat · 7 years ago

No. I can believe ANYTHING! You say it, I believe it. I am rubbish at knowing what the actual truth is.

icecream2 · 7 years ago

Sometimes it is hard to tell ?
And annoying finding out it’s fake ..

ninjanoah · 7 years ago

Probably but sometimes you can

hayne · 7 years ago

Yes because fake news is sometimes unrealistic.

sophia6 · 7 years ago

I can't spot fake news because if there is quite a lot of fake news I never realise I just read news and think that sounds cool.

adamr123 · 7 years ago

It's very hard, because when pictures are shown it looks like real information.

pumpkin888 · 7 years ago

Sometimes I can tell that news is fake but most of the time I don't think very hard on the subject to realise if the news is fake or not.

pumpkin999 · 7 years ago

I rarely can because the makers of fake news are so clever- how do you know any information source is telling the truth????

ggg · 7 years ago

It depends... I guess I can tell if it's a stupid news article like "aliens coming to attack our planet next week!" But if it's a good article that might be true I may fall for it.

buddyboi · 7 years ago

I've never come across a fake news incident before so hard for me to give an opinion on this (or at least I don't THINK I have... In that case, no I can't tell
the differences)

durrburger · 7 years ago

I can tell which are fake because I listen to the news in the morning and at night and some stories are just unrealistic.

cozmojjss@ · 7 years ago

I don't because it may be acainjoliy but I trust First News but sometimes I'm no so sure

elsatrot · 7 years ago

Hardly anyone knows whether news is fake or real because it acts as if it's real and the people who write the fake articles try to make them look real.

snowball7 · 7 years ago

I think it is hard to know whether a news story is real or fake because they are made to sound convincing and people think that the informations true.

hermione_2 · 7 years ago

Yes because I only read trusted articles in trusted newspapers or magazines written by a real journalist. NOT like social medias (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter ), but more like the guardian, BBC news, CNN ...??️

doctor2010 · 7 years ago

No, because people who make fake news make it sound real.

uglypigeon · 7 years ago

I think I can because if you only read reliable sources you don’t read fake news so you wouldn’t need to learn what’s fake and how to spot it it’s more a question of learning who’s fake!

bela · 7 years ago

In news articles. Sometimes it advertises restaurants with fake reviews

summer18 · 7 years ago

I do think I can tell when a news story is real or fake because if you take a really good long look at the news story you’ll be able to tell

ciarza123 · 7 years ago

Most of the time yes but sometimes it's really hard to tell. But I don't know what the big deal about it is when your a kid it doesn't make sense.

maybe6533 · 7 years ago

Yes i can because the fake news was very little consumers and has very little money by their company.

anjakf · 7 years ago

I do because sometimes it is obvious that it is fake. If only one website said that Megan markle was pregnant for instance, then I wouldn’t believe it because it would already be all over the media. I stick to news I can trust like first news.

bookcrazy1 · 6 years ago

I can't tell the difference between real and fake, mostly because I've never seen a fake news article (I think). I stick to newspapers and news websites that I can trust, like First News.

titmouse · 6 years ago

I only look at bbc and first news and I know that all these stories are true

unipiggy · 6 years ago

I think it will probably be obvious because I only listen, read, and watch news, like First News and the bbc, that I know are reliable. I would be extremely shocked if First News lied. Also, I am not sure if people who spread fake news are doing it for a laugh or are just generally mean and happy with what they do.

superman77 · 6 years ago

depends
you have to see on bbc

hhive · 6 years ago

No as sometimes news writers are so capable that they can make a report look real

artymartin · 6 years ago

I am thinking the same as boyhornet how can we tell whether it is fake or real. E.g breaking news the us has just just released its first newspaper. How can we tell wheth news stories in a newspaper ar fake or reall by the way that one was fake.

xdcoconut · 6 years ago

yes because they usually put some story's on the newspaper and they speak in a pretty smart voice

swim4life · 6 years ago

I think ? I can tell because of information I have learned at school. In lessons we are taught about the difference between fake and real news. Sometimes though the articles are very real and that makes it harder to tell the difference.

rosyrhada · 6 years ago

Sort of. If the report is so obviously ridicolous duu! Why even make a poll about it or put it in the papers but something wich could happen (like this) I mean it's I dunno wich the pick.

rosyrhada · 6 years ago

Luckily first news seems thruthful. Thanks first news x

dolfincake · 6 years ago

It is very hard to identify the difference as the people who develop fake stories can be as convincing as BBC news or other places that tells us the REAL truth.

hobbes123 · 6 years ago

No, I don’t think I can tell the difference between real & fake news because I only read First News and my brother gets National Geographic Kids so I read that too. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference real & fake news because the writers make the fake news article sound like a real news article. I really hope people stop doing this because it is wrong.

oceanwaves · 6 years ago

I'm not going to vote because I don't know whether I will or not because I am a subscriber of First News, which never does fake news. The only other news I hear is Classic FM news at 8:00 when I go to school and that is probably not fake because it is a radio station. No idea.

legend2258 · 6 years ago

well I was in the middle because sometimes you can but sometimes you can't

sisi · 6 years ago

I think both, because sometimes it is pretty obvious when news is fake. This is usually because it's something that is impossible and too far, like aliens invading a remote place in England. However, sometimes it isn't easy to tell the difference because it can seem possible, like a celebrity getting 20 iPhone Xs.

daisy101 · 6 years ago

I believe that I couldn't tell the difference between because the news these days is very unpredictable and I would not trust some sights that give news.

welovenews · 6 years ago

No :P

oceangirl · 6 years ago

I can’t

sct06 · 6 years ago

I can tell most of the time as it could sometimes be really silly things that u would never believe but it can be hard sometimes. I only read trusted titles though.

roseydog · 6 years ago

I can tell if it's real or fake by weather it sounds fake or not. Sometimes I find it hard, but I can tell much more often.

bed · 6 years ago

I agree with boyhornet . . .

sprinkle10 · 6 years ago

I don't think I could. It seems pretty hard to believe. I would probably ask my parents before believing anything. I would hate to believe anything that is not real that could put me or anyone in danger. I think that it's absolutely amazing that first news is helping children discover the meaning of fake and real news.???

teddylover · 6 years ago

skyangel is correct

Sunubo1 · 6 years ago

I think, if i were to see an article that was fake, i would not be able to spot that it was. People are so good at lying nowadays, we can hardly separate the truth from the lies.

smoothlake · 6 years ago

Another newspaper I read had a fake news story hidden inside and I found it!

fly · 6 years ago

I dunno I don't wanna jinks it!!
????????

fox64 · 6 years ago

Perhaps, it depends what the story is...

fox64 · 6 years ago

Perhaps, it depends what the story is... If it based on something real I might.

fox64 · 6 years ago

I accidentally posted 2 nearly identical comments-sorry!

ZENCE40 · 6 years ago

It depends. Sometimes it's obvious but often it's not.

agentlord · 6 years ago

Yes cause I know about crazy news

dogsrock16 · 6 years ago

I cant because im stupid

hc-524219 · 6 years ago

I can tell the difference though I do not know how I can do it. First news makers are wise in making their news so (no offense) some people can be fooled. Most of the other people might not be able to tell the difference but...
DO NOT BE FOOLED BY WHAT YOU SEE.

ti-10 · 6 years ago

I cannot tell whether a news story is fake or true. I mean, if something was not real in the newspaper, my mum and dad would have probably pointed it out. But since I have moved onto reading First news for kids, I know that all the articles are real.

sammyseal7 · 6 years ago

Fake story's sound fake

ys001 · 6 years ago

No,but I wish I could.

mrmilo · 6 years ago

yes I think you can tell if a news story is real or fake because it doesn't sound quite right and sounds unreal.

26sausages · 6 years ago

Yes, cause it can be pretty obvious. I mean no one's going to see a UFO

penguinbow · 6 years ago

Impossible

pandapower · 6 years ago

I only ever uses bbc and first news