Here are all the fake 'news' sites to watch out for on Facebook

[Shallel Octavia]

Andrew Couts —

Nov 16 at 4:58PM | Last updated Nov 18 at 11:33AM

http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fake-news-sites-list-facebook/

Photo via flyparade/Getty Images (Licensed)

It's a minefield out there, folks.

The hot new thing in the world of media is websites that are completely bogus. 

Facebook, a primary driver of traffic to publications, has come under fire for allowing the promotion of fake news websites and sites that deal in conspiracy theories rather than facts. Some Facebook employees even reportedly revolted and took matters into their own hands.

Many have questioned whether the rise of fake news contributed to the election victory of President-elect Donald Trump, and both Facebook and Google have responded by cutting these sites out of their advertising networks and otherwise making their stories harder to find. And PolitiFact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking site, has launched a new section devoted to fake news.

But those sites are still out there, and someone on your Facebook friend's list is probably sharing one of their stories right now. 

Fortunately, Melissa Zimdars, a media professor at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, compiled a list of “fake, false, or regularly misleading websites” that purposefully publish fake information or are otherwise entirely unreliable. The list, which has since been removed due to threats and harassment Zimdars says she received, also included sites that “may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information” or “sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions.”

The list included both left- and right-wing publications, and it is regularly updated or amended. Here is how Zimdars has categorized them:

“CATEGORY 1: Below is a list of fake, false, or regularly misleading websites that are shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits. These websites are categorized with the number 1 next to them.

“CATEGORY 2: Some websites on this list may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information, and they are marked with a 2.

“CATEGORY 3: Other websites on this list sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions, and they are marked with a 3.

“CATEGORY 4: Other sources on this list are purposefully fake with the intent of satire/comedy, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news. I’m including them here, for now, because 1.) they have the potential to perpetuate misinformation based on different audience (mis)interpretations and 2.) to make sure anyone who reads a story by The Onion, for example, understands its purpose. If you think this is unnecessary, please see Literally Unbelievable.”

Below is the complete list, which Zimdars originally published under a Creative Commons license that allows publishers to freely reprint the list. Keep in mind: Not all of these sites are intentionally spreading fake news, so pay attention to the rating.

1. 100PercentFedUp.com (2,3)
2. EnduringVision.com (1)
3. PakAlertPress.com
4. 21stCenturyWire.com (2, 3)
5. FPRNradio.com
6. PoliticalBlindSpot.com
7. 70news.wordpress.com (1)
8. The Free Thought Project (3)
9. PoliticalEars.com
10. Abcnews.com.co (1)
11. GeoEngineeringWatch.org
12. Politicalo (1)
13. ActivistPost.com (2, 3)
14. PoliticusUSA
15. Addicting Info (3)
16. GovtSlaves.info
17. PrisonPlanet.com
18. AmericanNews.com (1)
19. GulagBound.com
20. PrisonPlanet.tv 
21. AnonNews.co (3)
22. HangTheBankers.com
23. Private-eye.co.uk (includes 4)
24. Associated Media Coverage
25. HumansAreFree.com
26. ProjectVeritas
27. BeforeItsNews.com
28. Huzlers (4)
29. Being Liberal
30. IfYouOnlyNews
31. React 365
32. BigAmericanNews.com
33. Indecision Forever (1)
34. RealFarmacy.com
35. BigPZone.com
36. RealNewsRightNow.com (1, 4)
37. Bipartisan Report (3)
38. InfoWars (1, 2)
39. RedFlagNews.com
40. BizPac Review
41. Infowars.com
42. Red State (3)
43. Blue Nation Review (2,3)
44. IntelliHub.com
45. Reductress (4)
46. Breitbart (2, 3)
47. Inquisitr.com
48. RileNews.com (1, 4)
49. Call the Cops (4)
50. JonesReport.com
51. Satira Tribune
52. Cap News  (4)
53. LewRockwell.com
54. Sprotspickle.com (4)
55. ChristWire.org (4)
56. Liberal America
57. The Blaze
58. Chronicle.su
59. LibertyTalk.fm
60. The Free Thought Project (3)
61. CivicTribune.com (1)
62. LibertyUnyielding
63. Borowitz Report (4)
64. ClickHole.com (4)
65. LibertyVideos.org
66. The Onion (4)
67. CoastToCoastAM.com (2)
68. LMR/LibertyMovementRadio.com
69. The Other 98% (3)
70. CollectiveEvolution (3)
71. MediaMass.net (1)
72. The Reporterz
73. ConsciousLifeNews.com (2)
74. MegynKelly.us (1)
75. The Stately Harold
76. ConservativeOutfitters.com (2)
77. MSNBC.com.co (1)
78. TheDailySheeple.com
79. ConspiracyWire (WideAwakeAmerica.com) (2)
80. MSNBC.website (1)
81. TheNewsNerd.com
82. CountdownToZeroTime.com (2)
83. Naha Daily (4)
84. TheRunDownLive.com
85. CounterPsyOps.com
86. National Report
87. TheUsPatriot.com
88. NationalReport.net (1)
89. TruthFrequencyRadio.com
90. CreamBMP.com (1)
91. NaturalNews.com
92. Twitchy.com (3)
93. DailyBuzzLive.com
94. NC Scooper
95. UnconfirmedSources.com
96. DailyCurrant.com
97. NCT (New Century Times)
98. News Examiner
99. USA Supreme
100. Daily Wire
101. News-Hound.com (1)
102. US.Blasting.News
103. DCClothesLine.com
104. NewsBiscuit.com (1)
105. US Uncut (3)
106. DCGazette.com (1)
107. Newslo (1, 4)
108. VeteransToday.com
109. DerfMagazine.com
110. NewsMutiny.com (1, 4)
111. Disclose.tv
112. Newswatch 28
113. WakingUpWisconsin.com
114. DrudgeReport.com.co (1)
115. Newswatch 33
116. Winning Democrats
117. DuffleBlog.com (4)
118. NewsWire-24.com
119. WitScience.org
120. DuhProgressive.com
121. NoDisInfo.com
122. World Net Daily
123. Embols.com
124. Now8News
125. World News Daily Report (4)
126. Empire Herald
127. NowTheEndBegins.com
128. WorldTruth.tv
129. Empire News (1)
130. Occupy Democrats (3)
131. ZeroHedge
132. EmpireNews.com
133. Endingthefed.com

In addition to the list, Zimdars has created a tip sheet for news consumers so that we all might better decipher what's real, what's fake, and what's simply misleading in ways that have nothing to do with whether you agree with a particular article or not:

• Avoid websites that end in “lo” ex: Newslo (above). These sites take pieces of accurate information and then packaging that information with other false or misleading “facts” (sometimes for the purposes of satire or comedy).

• Watch out for websites that end in “.com.co” as they are often fake versions of real news sources  

• Watch out if known/reputable news sites are not also reporting on the story. Sometimes lack of coverage is the result of corporate media bias and other factors, but there should typically be more than one source reporting on a topic or event.

• Odd domain names generally equal odd and rarely truthful news.

• Lack of author attribution may, but not always, signify that the news story is suspect and requires verification.

• Some news organizations are also letting bloggers post under the banner of particular news brands; however, many of these posts do not go through the same editing process (ex: BuzzFeed Community Posts, Kinja blogs, Forbes blogs). 

• Check the “About Us” tab on websites or look up the website on Snopes or Wikipedia for more information about the source.

• Bad web design and use of ALL CAPS can also be a sign that the source you’re looking at should be verified and/or read in conjunction with other sources. 

• If the story makes you REALLY ANGRY it’s probably a good idea to keep reading about the topic via other sources to make sure the story you read wasn’t purposefully trying to make you angry (with potentially misleading or false information) in order to generate shares and ad revenue. 

• It’s always best to read multiple sources of information to get a variety of viewpoints and media frames. Some sources not yet included in this list (although their practices at times may qualify them for addition), such as The Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, and Fox News, vacillate between providing important, legitimate, problematic, and/or hyperbolic news coverage, requiring readers and viewers to verify and contextualize information with other sources. 

So stay vigilant, readers. It's a minefield out there.

Update 9:44am CT, Nov. 18: IJR (Independent Journal Review) has been removed from the original list, and we've updated our story to reflect that.

Update 10:35am CT, Nov. 18: Professor Zimdars has removed the list from her original Google Doc due to threats and harassment she received, the Los Angeles Times reports. We have reached out to Zimdars and will update this piece with more information as it becomes available.