Peer Review

Evaluating Information: Fake News

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jan 27, 2025 by Library and Information Services

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

A library research guide page that provides definitions as well as tools for identifying and evaluating various forms of fake news. Also included on this page are links to various fake news examples and additional ‘how to’ identify fake news resources. This webpage is from a collection of webpages that address evaluating various types of information from the University of Washington Universities Libraries.

Type of Material:

Collection

Recommended Uses:

A reference for students
Class discussion
Paired with an assignment or activity

Technical Requirements:

Web browser; tested on Firefox and Chrome

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Students will learn how to identify fake news.
Students will be able to distinguish between different types of fake news: misleading, satire, fake news, highly partisan, and clickbait.
Students will have access to additional resources for them to learn about fake news.

Target Student Population:

All disciplines
Can be all educational levels, but better for lower division students

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

None

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

Content is concise – This resource provides just the right amount of information on the topic for students to gain a basic understanding.
Content is also written in a approachable manner for all levels of students and even the general public

Concerns:

Every category has examples except for “misleading”. Examples should be added to match the other categories in the guide.
The record in Merlot sends visitors the “Fake News” page. This page is part of a research guide on evaluating information, which contextualizes the topic. Since Merlot specifically links to the “Fake News” page, this context is lost unless you explore the other pages. Therefore, more information would be useful to contextualize the topic.
The content of the site has not been updated since 2020; so many of the examples are outdated.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Material can be easily integrated into curriculum of a variety of disciplines
The page can simply be used as a reference tool for students or paired with a variety of activities/assignments based on the instructors needs and desired learning outcomes

Concerns:

Learning objectives are not listed in the guide.
As mentioned previously, an introduction to the “Fake News” page is needed, as some visitors will not explore the entire guide for context.
The connection between the different types of fake news is not apparent. More information to demonstrate the relationships between the concepts would be useful.
Including a way to assess learners' understanding of the content (e.g. a quiz) would be useful.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The guide does not require any special software and works on all browsers.
There is not a strong need for instructions because it is only text and hyperlinks.
The page seems to meet accessibility requirements besides minor issues such as long alternative text.

Concerns:

A few of the links listed on the page are broken
If viewed on tablet/phone or on a minimized screen, the order of the text may confuse student since it organizes content from right to left.
Those that are red/green color blind won’t be able to distinguish the different subheadings apart, though this doesn’t affect the overall organization of the page.
The three-column design on the main Fake News page is not ideal. A different design could improve readability.

Other Issues and Comments:: I reviewed the page "Fake News" as the entry in Merlot was titled "Evaluating Information: Fake News" and linked to http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/evaluate/fakenews. I would suggest linking to http://guides.lib.uw.edu/c.php?g=611734&p=4247863 and renaming it Savvy Info Consumers: Evaluating Information.
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