Fake News Sites: Fake News under a legitimate brand

Alleged reports from tagesschau, Spiegel, the BBC or other reputable brands: Authors of fake news fake news sites to camouflage misleading content.

A bus driver who was allegedly fired for intolerance: This message has been passed through social media in the past few days. A screenshot was used as the alleged source, which is supposed to show a corresponding report from “Spiegel”: A driver in Hamburg allegedly threw a drunk man from Syria out of the bus – and was fired because of it.

But it was a flawless forgery; the incident did not exist at all, and there is no corresponding “mirror” report. Both the “Hamburger Morgenpost” as well as corrective informed about the fictitious story. Hamburger Hochbahn denied the false report on Twitter.

Not an isolated case

The fake report is not an isolated case, but a scam to disguise fake news as supposed satire or serious news reports – and thus to mislead people in a targeted manner.

A video that is said to have come from the BBC is circulating on social media. Accordingly, the British broadcaster quoted a statement by French President Emmanuel Macron on April 11 that sanctions against Russia would lead to 60 million refugees. But there is neither a corresponding message from the BBC, nor a quote from Macron, how Reuters and France24 found.

The BBC provides for such cases a page with hintswhat people can do when they come across a fake news site or receive fake emails. Because also businessmen already used this method, to give questionable investments a serious look. Fake shops are also a means of cheating users and stealing their money.

Fake tagesschau reports

Also reports from daily News are repeatedly falsified – with different intentions. So, at the beginning of April, an alleged daily News-Article about Markus Lanz’s outrage regarding the censorship of a “Lion’s Den” episode, in which allegedly lucrative investment systems were presented. Mimikama exposed the fake and showed that fraudulent investment traps are behind it.

An alleged one circulated in mid-January daily News-Post on Facebook, which said that Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had described the current corona situation as “Dictatorship Light”. Tagesschau.de and corrective clarified that both the article and the quote from Steinmeier did not exist and that it was a fake.

In March, among other things, an AfD politician shared an alleged report by Deutschlandfunk, in which “Afrokainers” were said to have been mentioned. The station’s original post had the expression though not included at all. The screenshot was obviously manipulated, but it is still on Twitter today.

What to do?

In order to spot fake news disguised as legitimate media, it makes sense to check if the story is actually on the news site in question. This can be done with a query via a search engine; The use of search operators is helpful here.

For example, all posts on tagesschau.de with the keywords Steinmeier and Corona can be found on Google:

site: tagesschau.de steinmeier Corona

In addition, other operators can be used, for example, to limit the time period. An overview of the search options is provided including Google self.

It also makes sense to look on other well-known news sites to see if there are any relevant reports or information there.

Compare screenshots with original messages

In addition, it is often worth taking a closer look at the screenshot of the supposed article. By comparing it with actual reports on the news site, errors can often be found, for example in the font, the color scheme, the date format or the arrangement of the headline. Spelling mistakes can also identify fakes as such.

If there is not only a screenshot, but also a link to a website, the imprint can provide important information about the authenticity of the content.

It is important to be aware of how easily screenshots and photos can be manipulated – for example, by taking them out of their context. In order not to unintentionally spread false reports yourself, it is important to think first – then possibly share.