Fake news headlines go viral. Here's what you should know.

A screenshot of a headline that looked like it came from The Atlantic went viral in early October because it suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris “may have to steal the election” to save democracy.

But the headline was made up. The Atlantic said in a statement that the screenshot was the latest in a series of fake Atlantic headlines, most of which are “grossly fake, with grainy resolution and some of which use hateful language.”

These fake headlines can Mislead voters and the public at a time when factually accurate information is critical, said Jeffrey Blevins, a professor in the Department of Journalism, Public and International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati.

“If you go online, there is a flood of information out there,” Blevins said. “I think we need really serious media literacy education that starts much earlier, in K-12.”

An ongoing misinformation trend

Fake news headlines that mislead the public are not a new phenomenon, and they do not always focus on politics.

CBS News identified fake headlines that purported to come from media outlets such as The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN and local news sites. The headlines were about the 2024 campaign, aid to Ukraine, the 2024 Paris Olympics and other topics.

Some fake headlines posted on social media come with a warning that the article is not real. But that's not always the case. A fake headline apparently from The Atlantic was viewed more than three million times on X without a label identifying it as fabricated.

A concern for Misinformation Experts is the one behind the distribution and amplification of fake headline screenshots. “The real problem is that elected officials, politicians, celebrities and influencers are starting to repost this stuff,” Blevins said. “That gives him real credibility, and frankly they should know better. I think a lot of them know, they just don’t care.”

Elon Musk, the owner of satirical accounts on X, has also shared fake headlines and garnered millions of views.

A study conducted in April 2024 by researchers at MIT and Columbia University found that 50% of respondents were unsure when confronted with both a fake news story and a real news story to see if the public could distinguish between the two , 47% chose the true story and 3% chose the fake story.

Distinguishing between fact and fiction is only part of the challenge when it comes to misinformation and the media, Jason Davis, a research professor at Syracuse University whose work focuses on identifying disinformation and misinformation, told CBS News.

“Right now, the biggest challenge we have is the low barrier to entry to create, distribute at scale, scale and speed of a misinformation and disinformation propaganda campaign,” Davis said. “It requires very few resources.”

How to spot fake headlines

As misinformation rises online, experts say there are several quick and easy ways to check if a headline is real:

1. Find the primary source: Get off social media and look for the headline online to see what results it gets. Or better yet, search for the headline directly on the outlet's website to see if it's there.
2. Look for visual clues: Is the image or article screenshot high quality or pixelated like this fake New York Times headline screenshot? Is an author or publication date visible? Does the font and style match other genuine items from the same outlet?
3. Gauge your reaction: Bad actors can create false headlines using impressive language to elicit an emotional response from the reader.
4. Check out other news outlets: What are your local news outlets covering? Do national outlets have similar coverage? Try to find multiple reputable sources reporting the information.
5. Check your mindset: When you scroll through social media, you may not be taking in information with a critical mindset. It's important to be careful with the information you find online.

Davis warns that the days just before, during and after November Presidential election will be an opportune window of opportunity for those seeking to spread misinformation.

“The liar’s dividend is high,” Davis said. “I think we're going to see a tsunami of this kind of content because I just have to fool you for a critical period of time and then I get the result that I want in the real world.”