Fake News Websites You Should Be Wary About
By Baxter Jacinto
It seems that fake news website have been rampant these days, spreading propaganda and threatens to dumb down people more—worsening one’s ability to distinguish facts and lies. It does not help that Facebook has fallen victim to the spreading and contribute to the virality of these sites, unable to distinguish real ones from fake. The Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility (CMFR) has pointed out red flags to assess if a website is possibly fake, that you can check out here.
Meanwhile, we’ve compiled a couple of fake news sites that you should be wary about. Again, think before you like and share!
8. Pinoy Trending
pinoytrending.altervista.org
It doesn’t have an About Us and Contact Information and it openly accepts stories and videos without any editorial guidelines; and its disclaimer looks like it was copy-pasted from its host.
Notable Headline: “Can we Americans borrow him for a while?” President Duterte got a support from an American who lives in the Philippines
We can clearly see that there was no source attributed at all as to where the quote came from. Let’s not fall for that.
7. XOLXOL
xolxol.ph
They point out in their About Us that “Xolxol.ph is not your typical tabloid or blog as we are not into formal writing,” but in the next few sentences they contradict themselves and say “Expect to have some quality reads.” So we expect to read quality news but it doesn’t employ formal writing? How does that work?
Notable Headline: Japanese artist Ayumi Endo meets Duterte; donates P2 million
Yes, Ayumi Endo did indeed meet Duterte but where did the P2 million donations for the anti-illegal drug campaign come from? We scoured the internet for more information regarding said donation and only found other fake websites trumpeting the same headline.
6. News Trend PH
newstrendph.com
The site pushes the Duterte News Global Facebook page really hard. Should we trust a site that is, dare we say, biased?
Notable Headline: WARRANT OF ARREST kay Sen.De Lima at sa iba pa inilabas na mga pulis handa na para arestuhin sila ngayon.”
What’s interesting here is that its source leads to another site that has exactly the same template.
5. Pinoy World
pinoyworld.net
Their About Us and Disclaimer are dead links, but its Facebook link leads to Pres. Rody Duterte Worldwide Supporters. I suppose everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Notable Headline: ABS-CBN Might Reduce Agot Isidro Scenes at ‘Ang Probinsyano’ After Strong Demand from Social Media
Nowhere in the article do you see an official quote from ABS-CBN; instead what we see are the shared sentiments of Duterte supporters.