Read the text carefully and then choose the best option for each gap in the text.

‘Fake news’ is news stories that are either completely untrue, or do not contain all the truth, with a view
with one newspaper
to inform and amuse
of which you form an opinion
to start a public debate
whose content you disagree with
to deliberately misdirecting readers
of influencing voters

Fake news became prominent during the US election, with supporters of both sides tweeting false information in the hope
with one newspaper
to inform and amuse
of which you form an opinion
to start a public debate
whose content you disagree with
to deliberately misdirecting readers
of influencing voters

In May 1897, Mark Twain, the American author, was in London. Rumours reached the US that he was very ill and, later, that he had died. In a letter to Frank Marshall White, a journalist who inquired after his health as a result, Mark Twain suggested that the rumours had started because his cousin, who shared his surname, had been ill a few weeks before. He noted dryly to White, “The report of my death was an exaggeration”.

It had, nonetheless, been widely reported in the US,
with one newspaper
to inform and amuse
of which you form an opinion
to start a public debate
whose content you disagree with
to deliberately misdirecting readers
of influencing voters
even printing an obituary.

Fake news is not:

Articles on satirical or humorous websites, or related publications, that make a comment on the news by satirising them, because this is intended
with one newspaper
to inform and amuse
of which you form an opinion
to start a public debate
whose content you disagree with
to deliberately misdirecting readers
of influencing voters
not misinform;
Anything obvious that ‘everyone already knows’ (often described using the caption ‘that’s not news’); or
An article
with one newspaper
to inform and amuse
of which you form an opinion
to start a public debate
whose content you disagree with
to deliberately misdirecting readers
of influencing voters

The calculated intention of fake news
at least small differences
with opinion are based only on facts
in their views
potential bias
both conscious and unconscious
without false accusations
to mislead is crucial

It is worth remembering that everyone has their opinions, and therefore sources of
at least small differences
with opinion are based only on facts
in their views
potential bias
both conscious and unconscious
without false accusations
to mislead is crucial
in what they write. These may be the kind we are aware of – or not. News organisations tend to have an organisational ‘view’ or political slant. For example, the UK’s Guardian is broadly left-wing, and most of the UK tabloids are right-wing
at least small differences
with opinion are based only on facts
in their views
potential bias
both conscious and unconscious
without false accusations
to mislead is crucial
, and this affects both what they report and how they report it.

As a reader, you also have prejudices,
at least small differences
with opinion are based only on facts
in their views
potential bias
both conscious and unconscious
without false accusations
to mislead is crucial
, and these affect the stories you choose to read, and the sources you use. It is therefore possible to self-select only stories that confirm your own view of the world, and social media is very good at helping with this.

To overcome this, it is important to use more than one source of information, and try to ensure that they have
at least small differences
with opinion are based only on facts
in their views
potential bias
both conscious and unconscious
without false accusations
to mislead is crucial
in their political views.