"Real news" is written by professional journalists who adhere to ethical guidelines for gathering and writing the news with emphasis on fairness, independence, accountability, accuracy, transparency, impartiality, integrity, and truth. 

Examples of journalistic codes of ethics:

• Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics
• NPR Standards of Journalism
• New York Times Standards and ethics
• Dutch journalism: Code voor de journalistiek door het Nederlandse Genootschap van Hoofdredacteuren

Fact checking is the act of checking factual assertions in a non-fictional text in order to determine the veracity and correctness of the factual statements in the text. This may be done either before (ante hoc) or after (post hoc) the text has been published or otherwise disseminated.

Research on the impact of fact-checking is relatively recent but the existing research suggests that fact-checking does indeed correct misperceptions among citizens, as well as discourage politicians from spreading misinformation.

• Nieuwscheckers: an initiative by journalism students at the University of Leiden
• FHJ Factcheck: an initiative by journalism students at the Fontys Hogeschool
   

• How Facebook's Fact-checking Partnership will Work

  Facebook partners with five fact-checking organizations to fight fake news
• News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016 - Pew Research Report

  "A majority of U.S. adults – 62% – get news on social media, and 18% do so often...Two-thirds of Facebook users (66%) get news on the site."
• Facebook to offer users tips on spotting fake news

  "Users in 14 countries will be presented with a large post at the top of their feeds with messages such as “it is possible to spot false news” and linking to 10 tips for identifying misinformation including checking web addresses and being sceptical about headlines which make shocking claims".

Read here about fact-checking: what it is, how it works

Ask the person making the claim for evidence.
Consider the evidence you get from speakers as a tip sheet.

Look for what other fact-checkers have found before you.
Use all options to verify the evidence: see what has been written on a given topic, look at fact-checking sites, pursue other ideas and angles on an issue to see if there’s even more to be found on a topic.

Do a Google search -- and then search again.
A Google search is basic, but Google’s algorithm is powerful. Google’s advanced search settings allow you to look at specific sites and time periods. Search using as many different combinations as you can. Learn how to use Google’s search operators so you can look by file type (file:pdf) or domain name (site:politifact.com). 

Search the Deep Web.
What is the Deep Web? The Deep Web includes areas of the Internet that aren’t open to surface searching. This usually means databases and subscription sites, like Nexis Uni.

Look for experts with different perspectives.
Experts can point you to research you might not find on your own, and they often give important context to research you already found. You should look for more than two sides to any specific controversy or issue. Experts can really help you move beyond black-and-white views of issues to portray a spectrum of complexity.

Check out some books.
You might not have time to read a whole book on a tight deadline, but searching books can help you find authors to interview, to look up quotes or find explanations of technical terms.