Websites created to mimic mainstream news sites:
- Perform an independent search for the news source. Compare and verify URLs.
Example: http://abcnews.com.co/ (fake site) is not the ABC Network News http://abcnews.go.com.
- Look for editorial standards and policies posted on the website.
- In staff listings (or on the About page), look critically at the list of executives. Are they real people or stock photos? Open a new tab and look for another profile of the individual (e.g. LinkedIn).
- Look for contact information with a verifiable address and affiliation.
- Look for an About page, often in the header or footer of the home page. Read the About page closely for evidence of partisanship or bias. If there's no About page and no Contact page, be very skeptical.
