New Facebook fake news tool helps you fight propaganda

Most fake news is pretty easy to spot. If you read a headline and it makes you go, "Uhhhh…" and then scramble to fact-check it, your gut instinct is usually correct.

However – and I know this might be shocking to you – a lot of people out there, some of whom you are connected to on Facebook, do not fact check articles before sharing them. They just read the headline, realize it aligns with their feelings, and hit the share button.

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Go ahead, delete Facebook. You'll be back.

Once again, the "delete Facebook" memes and status updates are spreading around the internet like wildfire following the revelation that Facebook user data was improperly used to help get Trump elected. I've already seen tutorials …

Well, if you're having trouble finding those people on your list of Facebook friends, an update rolling out today will help you track them down.

Starting today, when you see a news article in your Facebook feed, there will be an "i" icon near the headline. Check out the screenshot below to see what it looks like:

When you click the "i" icon, an overlay box appears that gives you a quick Wikipedia blurb about the publication, some more articles from that publication, and the list of people on your friends list who shared that article. Check out the screenshot:

Using this new tool, it should be easier to discern which stories are likely to be true or false without having to leave your Facebook feed. In the example above, the source is the Associated Press, one of the most highly-respected journalism sources in the world. Chances are, if that organization published it, the information contained therein is accurate.

If you're having trouble figuring out which news sources are biased to one side of the political spectrum, here's a helpful chart to get you started:

Media Bias / Fact Check

Using this new Facebook tool, you will hopefully be less likely to share fake news by accident and more likely to share real news on purpose. You also will be able to tell which of your friends don't bother to fact-check things before sharing them, and either unfriend them or send them a message alerting them to how they are ruining the country by spreading lies and propaganda. Either or.

NEXT: How to read your valuable personal Facebook data

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