Sourcing
Checking whether a claim points to identifiable evidence instead of vague authority.
Internet Culture / TEST 23
Can You Detect the Fake Headline?
Confidence is cheap. Evidence isn’t.
Before you start
HOW THE TEST WORKS.
Twelve media-literacy mini-cases about headlines, source quality, context and statistics. Everything you need is inside the question; no current-news knowledge is required.
A short entertainment quiz. It samples only the twelve questions shown here and is not an IQ, education, media-literacy or professional assessment.
Internet Culture
WHAT THIS TEST LOOKS AT
These are the dimensions used by this specific test. They describe the signals your choices contribute to; they are not medical or psychological diagnoses.
12 questions~4 min✓ Free · no sign-up↗ Instant result
Context
Comparing the headline with the narrower facts underneath it.
Numbers
Reading percentages and samples without letting a dramatic number do all the work.
QUESTIONS
A FEW SITUATIONS YOU'LL FACE
A preview of the kind of decisions used in this test. Your result is calculated from the full run, not from these examples alone.
- A headline says: “Study proves coffee doubles memory.” The study had 24 participants and the coffee group scored 5% higher on one memory task. Which rewrite is best supported?
- A headline says “Scientists confirm this sleep app works,” but the article links only to the app company’s press release. What is the strongest next check?
- A survey says 60% of 50 respondents chose option A. How many respondents is that?
THE VERDICT
WHERE YOUR ANSWERS CAN LAND
The result is not a universal label. It is the closest interpretation produced by this test version from the answers you give in this attempt.
HEADLINE BAIT
Too many headlines got the benefit of the doubt before the source, context or numbers were checked.
SOURCE NEEDED
You spotted some weak claims, but a convincing headline could still outrun the evidence.
DECENT BS FILTER
Your skepticism switched on and off. Half the time you checked the claim; half the time the framing got there first.
CONTEXT CHECKER
You usually looked past the headline and asked what the source, context and numbers actually supported.
RECEIPTS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN
Clickbait had a rough day. You kept separating what was claimed from what was actually shown.
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