Fake News Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Which source would be a primary source for confirming how a city council voted at a particular meeting?
An encyclopedia entry about city government
A commentator's summary of the decision
A social media poll about the decision
The council's official minutes or complete meeting recording
2. A news article says that “a study proves” a popular food prevents illness, but its link leads only to a company press release. What should you examine next?
Whether the press release includes photographs of researchers
The original research, including its methods, sample, findings, and funding
Whether the company's other products have positive reviews
How many news outlets copied the press release
3. What is confirmation bias?
The tendency of search engines to display only the newest results
The practice of confirming a story with two independent sources
The tendency to favor information that supports existing beliefs and discount conflicting evidence
The process editors use to approve a corrected article
4. A dramatic photograph is being shared as evidence of an event that supposedly happened yesterday. Which check is most useful for discovering whether the image is older?
Run a reverse-image search and look for earlier dated appearances
Increase the image brightness to expose editing
Ask the person who shared it whether it seems genuine
Compare the number of likes on different copies
5. Which feature most strongly suggests that an article is intended as satire rather than factual reporting?
It criticizes a well-known public figure
The publisher identifies its work as satire, and the story uses deliberately exaggerated humor
It uses an attention-grabbing headline
The article discusses an unlikely event
6. A website copies a major newspaper's branding but uses a slightly misspelled web address. What does this most directly indicate?
The newspaper has launched a regional edition
The article has been independently syndicated
The site may be impersonating a trusted publisher
The newspaper has corrected its original web address
7. Which routine would best help a family assess a surprising post before passing it along?
Pause, identify the original source, check the date and evidence, and compare independent credible coverage
Use the post's popularity as the main sign of reliability
Accept it when it fits what several family members already believe
Share it only within the family, where mistakes have less impact
8. Which description best defines disinformation?
False or misleading information deliberately created or shared to deceive
Inaccurate information shared by someone who sincerely believes it
A factual report that expresses a clear editorial viewpoint
Information that becomes outdated after publication
9. After reading a striking headline, you discover that the article itself makes a narrower and more cautious claim. What is the best interpretation?
The article must be fabricated because its wording differs
The headline is reliable because editors always verify headlines separately
The cautious wording proves that the article has no useful evidence
The headline may oversimplify or exaggerate the article, so the full context matters
10. A relative shares an urgent missing-child post, but the post has no visible date and asks everyone to repost immediately. What should you do before sharing it?
Share it temporarily and remove it if someone objects
Assume urgency matters more than checking details
Verify the date and location and look for a current notice from relevant authorities or a credible organization
Check whether the attached photograph looks professionally taken
11. A screenshot appears to show a public figure making an inflammatory statement. Which action provides the strongest check?
Search for other accounts reposting the same screenshot
Find the original post, full recording, or complete transcript and compare reliable coverage
Inspect whether the screenshot uses the platform's usual font
Decide whether the statement sounds consistent with the person's views
12. Which evidence provides the strongest support for a broad scientific claim?
A personal story that closely matches the claim
A confident statement from one scientist outside the relevant specialty
A large online poll in which participants selected themselves
Converging evidence from multiple relevant studies and qualified independent sources
13. A viral chart starts its vertical axis at 95 rather than zero, making a small difference look dramatic. What is the most appropriate response?
Reject every chart whose axis does not start at zero
Accept the chart if its colors are clearly labeled
Inspect the full scale, underlying values, source, and whether the chosen axis distorts the comparison
Focus only on the written caption rather than the numbers
14. An unfamiliar website publishes a sensational claim about a new school policy. What is the best first verification step?
Stay on the site and count how many articles make the same claim
Check whether friends have already shared the article
Judge whether the site's design looks professional
Open new tabs to investigate the website and compare the claim with independent sources
15. A viral portrait has oddly shaped fingers, leading commenters to call it AI-generated. What is the soundest conclusion?
The image is certainly AI-generated because hand errors are definitive proof
The anomaly is a clue, not proof; provenance, earlier versions, context, and corroborating sources should also be checked
The image must be authentic because editing software can also create distortions
The number of comments agreeing about AI determines whether the claim is correct
16. A news organization adds a visible correction explaining an error and what was changed. What does that correction show?
The organization has a transparent correction process, though each claim still requires evaluation
Everything else the organization publishes is automatically accurate
The entire original report should be treated as intentionally deceptive
Corrections matter only when a story has been removed completely