Who hasn’t been tempted to click on a story on Facebook about Chipotle planning to close all of its restaurants across the U.S.? What??? How can they??? Or how about the “World’s 1st Successful Head Transplant”?  I mean after all, there is a photo to prove it, right?  It must be true.

Most of us know of the availability of Snopes.com to check on the accuracy of many so-called “stories”. But here is a very valuable resource: Snopes’ Field Guide to Fake News Sites and Hoax Purveyors.  You will likely be surprised to find out some of the news sources that are fabricating their “reporting”.  Here is a partial list that the field guide mentions:

• National Report:  This is the most prominent and popular example of false news reporting on the internet. Facebook has tried to establish algorithms to prevent the spreading of this type of vicious false news. In response, sites like National Report now use the domain names of legitimate news outlets such as the Washington Post and USA Today which mirror the National Report‘s content.
• World News Daily Report: This one often mixes together incorrectly attributed and stolen photographs to spread long-held misinformation.
• Huzlers: Uses the names of popular brands and restaurants to spread vicious rumors.
• News Examiner: Gets around Facebook’s new algorithms by combining real news and listed items in with its fabricated news stories.
• Newswatch28: Pretends its a TV news website.

Photo Credit: Snopes.com