12 of the easiest ways to sniff out misinformation in 2020
Stop, corroborate, and fact check.
You see an interesting article on social media.
What do you do?
Do you share it immediately? Do you click through to read it first?
With unprecedented amounts of misinformation online, it’s never been more important to stop and think for a moment before we share content, lest we become unwitting peddlers of said misinformation ourselves.
When we do share false or misleading content, one of two things can happen: we either weaken our circle of influence (our friends and family members mute us or unfollow us and gradually begin to discredit everything we post); or, we inadvertently coax them into thinking our content is credible, so they then share it in their networks and the cycle continues.
As former CIA Analyst and disinformation expert Cindy Otis says, “people shouldn’t have to launch an investigation just to figure out who’s putting content in front of them.” And we shouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean we’re off the hook, and able to just freely post content as we wish without consequence. We all have to do our part to keep ourselves and our networks free from the harm caused by misinformation.
That said, we’re both busy and impatient. And we haven’t the time nor the resources to conduct a full-blown fact check every time we want to share something.
Don’t worry — here are 12 questions to help you quickly spot misinformation.
1. Did you read past the headline?
Beware of sensationalistic headlines, which are worded to excite the greatest number of readers or viewers. They often elicit an emotional reaction to prompt you to share the content, regardless of its accuracy. So don’t just read the headline. Click through. Is it clickbait?
2. What’s the URL?
Always look at the URL. Purveyors of fake news often pose as known media entities, but register under domains such as “abcnews.com.co.” If it looks fishy, it probably is.
3. Who’s the publisher?
If you aren’t already familiar with the publisher, be sure to click away from the story to view the publisher’s “About” page, mission and contact info. If they don’t have those, that may indicate it’s false or misleading content.
4. Who wrote it?
If there’s no byline listed and it’s not from a trusted source, ask yourself why. Is it because no real person would put their name behind this report? If there is a byline, look up the author. What else have they written? Is everything else they’ve produced credible and accurate? (Our.News is a great tool for verifying information about the publisher and author)
5. When was it published?
Always look at the publish date on stories. Just because something’s being shared now, doesn’t mean the topics included in the article are recent or accurate.
6. Is it a joke?
Don’t be fooled by known publishers of satire. The Onion and The Babylon Bee, for instance, create funny stories that riff on real news, but they’re not to be taken seriously. Make sure if you share one of these stories online, you and your followers know it.
7. Are the images relevant?
Photos are often some of your best clues. Look at the images closely. Have they been Photoshopped? Do they relate to the text in the article? If you’re not sure, do a Google Reverse Image Search. Simply tap the camera icon, and paste the URL of the image in the search bar to see where else on the web it’s been published.
8. Any confirmation bias?
Is the author trying to advance an agenda? One way to tell is by looking at the quotes in the article (if it has any). Who, specifically, is being quoted? If the author only interviews subjects who all share similar views, that may be an indication of confirmation bias. Look for fair, balanced reporting with sources from all sides.
9. Where’s the raw data?
Just because it’s in an infographic, doesn’t mean the data presented is accurate. Always trace the statistics back to the original source. Now, is the data presented in context? Don’t just take them at their word.
10. How’s the grammar?
Does the author frequently misspell or misuse words or overuse the exclamation point? What about CAPS LOCK? If so, be skeptical. Most credible news sources have copy editors that look for these mistakes and correct them before publishing. Keep an eye out for inconsistencies, too. Is “four” spelled out in one sentence, then written as “4” in the next? Good journalists maintain editorial standards for the sake of style and consistency.
11. Has a pro looked it over?
Fact-checking, like teaching or nursing, is a profession. Trained fact-checkers are basically online detectives, helping us sift through what’s true and what isn’t. If you’re not sure if a professional fact checker’s looked into something, copy and paste the URL into our.news/factcheck to see all of its relevant fact checks.
12. Anyone else reporting it?
If it seems like big news and it’s been accurately reported, rest assured: other publishers will pick up on it. No news source wants to be the last to drop a bombshell story. If you can only find the information via this one single source, that’s a red flag.
