How to Spot Fake News by Kaveeshan Gnanarajah
If we're being honest, scrolling through TikTok or Instagram feels like you’re swimming through an ocean of misinformation. From political campaigns to health advice and the most absurd deadlines, it gets harder to figure out what’s actually true every single day. Fake news is most commonly seen in headlines that are either completely taken out of context or entirely made-up versions of true events.
I’m sure we can all agree that seeing an absurd headline only to realize it was a fake headline or a fake account is highly annoying, especially if it is a troll account or an impersonation of a different company.
So how should you determine if something is a fake headline? I always click on the profile first. For example, for sports, if I see something crazy that came from an account that is not ESPN, Bleacher Report, or any of those big-name companies, I generally take what they are saying with a grain of salt. With that being said, it could just be another news outlet that recently started their profile, so I check what there other posts are. Just by scrolling through what kind of posts they make, or what kind of articles they write, you should get a pretty good idea if something is fake.
Just as a reminder, you do not repeat this process every single time you see a headline. This advice is meant to be used on topics that you personally either find important or things that you actually enjoy and want real information on.
UNICEF. “A Quick Guide to Spotting Misinformation.” Unicef.org, 2025, www.unicef.org/eca/stories/
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