How do I spot mis- and disinformation?
There are many examples of fake stories taking over social media, from the Pope endorsing Donald Trump to Mr. Rogers hiding tattoos under his cardigan. Most of us agree misinformation (unintentionally false stories) and disinformation (intentionally false stories) are a serious problem in our democracy, but what can you do to combat it? Here are some steps to identify “fake news” and slow its spread.
Is anyone quoted in this article or post? Do they provide “facts” from a report or study? This is your opportunity to find the individual or organization cited in the article and judge the credibility of the source. It’s possible the “expert” quoted in an article doesn’t have any formal education or experience in the field they are talking about. They might even be made up!
You should similarly evaluate any organization or study cited in an article. For example, it’s possible a study was entirely funded by a business with a special interest on the issue. Many think-tanks are open about their policy goals, and their reports don’t have to go through the same review as studies published in academic journals. You should also weigh the included data; a slanted study might cherry-pick a small number of cases. It’s also possible an article will misrepresent the conclusions of a study or report, quoting a sentence or data point out of context.
If an article or post does not cite any sources for their information – or maybe only cites an unnamed, “confidential” source of information – you should be extra skeptical.
If only one website or individual is reporting a story it is possible they have an exclusive scoop, but that is very unusual. Most of the time a topic or event will be covered by multiple news outlets, blogs, agencies, and so on. If you can’t find anyone else reporting the same or similar information, it’s time to be skeptical again.
Sometimes multiple blogs or news outlets will pick up the same story, but they all point back to one source. At that point, it’s extra important to evaluate the credibility of that source, as discussed in the previous step.
Accuracy is not a factor in what information is shown on social media. In fact, it is perfectly legal to pay for advertisements on social media that make false statements! Sometimes a social media network will flag posts that are paid advertisements, which can make it easier to spot if someone is paying for a chance to influence you.
Did you have an immediate, strong emotional reaction to reading a post or story? Does the post use shocking, outrageous, or sensational words? These are clues that a post or story is trying to get you to feel more than it is trying to get you to think. That’s never a good sign. Proceed with caution.
Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it relatively easy to create video or audio of something that never happened. As AI tools continue to improve, it will become increasingly difficult to identify faked content. Some experts have tips to spot a fake – such as comparing a person’s ears in real and faked images – but even these tricks can fail. Your best bet is to require additional evidence beyond any images or audio you find online.
It is not uncommon for false or misleading news stories to use images that are old or have nothing to do with the news story. The images that accompany a post – or even an author’s headshot – could also be stock photos. Google reverse image search and TinEye allow you to search the internet for everywhere an image appears. Check through the other image links you find to discover more context for an image.
Remember, you are a human, and human beings are very imperfect information evaluators. We are wired to focus on information that confirms something we already believe. The more frequently we see a statement – even if we originally think it’s false – the more likely we are to believe it in the future. We respond to emotional appeals. And studies show that we are more likely to believe a story if it is shared on social media by someone we know.
You can help stop the spread of misinformation and disinformation by pausing and evaluating before you share any content on social media. If you catch “fake news” before sharing it, you aren’t just saving your friends from false information, you have the opportunity to signal to a social media algorithm that a piece of content is not worth publishing.
Do not share a piece of content even if you are trying to point out its flaws—a social media algorithm will interpret this share as a sign the content is popular and should be spread more widely. You should instead report or block the content.
