In: Psychology
Have you ever read something that you suspected was fake news? In this week’s reading you will learn about strategies for determining if a source is credible. One of those strategies is the CRAAP Test.
Currency: Is the information up to date?
Relevance: Is the information relevant to your research needs?
Authority: Who is the source of the information?
Accuracy: How reliable and truthful is the information? Can the information be verified?
Purpose: Why does the information exist?
How can the CRAAP Test help you when you look at news and articles in the future?
Answer: Many a times, when we open social networking sites or news blogs, we witness many articles that seem authentic but are fake. Our confirmation bias, trust upon the person sharing it among the others are some reasons we don't even consider to fact-check once before assuming the article as genuine. I have witnessed many news articles in the past that I suspected was fake, and later most of them came out as fake.
Our opinion is our weapon for survival in today's world. It helps to find like minded people and ensures progress towards a better future. We shape our opinion through news articles and expert community. That's why a fake news article can have disastrous effects. CRAAP test is certainly a very helpful tool to find out fake articles before assimilating it. All the five aspects of CRAAP test usually cover all the important dimensions to reason out the fake from real. That can easily lesson our efforts and reach to write articles.