Library Helps Students Spot Fake News With This Brilliant Bookmark

We live in a world that is constantly changing and many of us are interested in keeping up with those changes. Of course, we may not necessarily want to keep pace with some of the bad things that are taking place but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to know about it. That is where news comes in. It is something that all of us need and we use it on a regular basis in order to know what is taking place and to benefit from it in a number of different ways.

At one time, it was possible to find the news very easily and most people just trusted the things that they saw when they were reported in the headlines. One of the most common ways that people got news was through the printed newspaper and regardless of whether it was there in the middle of the day or first thing in the morning, it brought the latest of what was happening around the world. In fact, many of us didn’t even know about things that were taking place until the newspaper arrived on our doorstep. Perhaps you can remember thumbing through it and getting some ink on your hands at the same time.

Another way that we got news was through the local television stations or perhaps through the national television stations. We would watch the news on a daily basis, getting familiar with the newscasters and listening to them tell us about everything that was taking place in the world. Some of those newscasters still captivate our attention but this type of news is something that is disappearing quickly in favor of the new methods that are being used today.

In today’s world, the news is not found in a newspaper or through a local television station. Those methods still exist, but the vast majority of people turn to the Internet and get their news in that way. Perhaps they look at the headlines on a daily basis or they may get the news delivered to them through email. Other people simply search for news whenever a large news event occurs because it is one way to keep up with the latest of what is happening. The Internet certainly has changed our lives in this way but it has also produced a problem that many of us need to deal with as well; fake news.

Fake news has always existed but it was less prevalent in the world than it is today. When we look at the Internet today and especially when we browse social media for news events, we likely find information about fake news that leads us in the wrong direction. In some cases, this type of news is written for malicious purposes as a part of a smear campaign or perhaps in order to mislead people into thinking the wrong thing for some reason or another. Regardless of why it takes place, it is misleading and sometimes, is dangerous.

Although some people consider themselves to be net savvy, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are able to spot fake news when they first hear it. Sometimes, it is the first thing that we see when we are searching for a news item and we may take it as being a fact until we are told otherwise. This can be quite distressing, and it can also lead to some embarrassment as well as to stopping us from truly understanding what is happening around us.

A local library has decided to do something about fake news and it was shared on Reddit. It comes in the form of a unique bookmark and this is not only a way to keep your place when you are reading a book, it also provides you with the basic principles of how to spot fake news and to avoid it. As they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed, and that is certainly the case with this awesome bookmark. Have a look for yourself:

Other Redditors chimed in:

We can stop fake news if we know how to spot it

It only takes one person getting the point and these bookmarks will have left their mark

Headlines can easily pull you in

At least we all agree on something here

We love our librarians!

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