7 Steps To Avoid Being Fooled By Fake News On Social Media
Misinformation on social media is unfortunately nothing new. But a recent set of unique circumstances — the global pandemic and a contentious presidential election — has created an environment that helps spawn even more of it. “Misinformation flourishes most when people are fearful, angry and uncertain,” says Suzannah Gonzales, director
Posted — UpdatedMisinformation on social media is unfortunately nothing new. But a recent set of unique circumstances — the global pandemic and a contentious presidential election — has created an environment that helps spawn even more of it.
During unprecedented events, people are driven to seek explanations, and they may even want to find someone, or something, to pin blame on, Gonzales explains.
1. Check Your Emotions
Are you angry, scared, curious, outraged or excited? Misinformation is more likely to hijack rational minds with emotional appeals, according to educators at NLP.
2. Determine The Purpose Of The Information
False information can be packaged in a number of formats. Gonzales recommends you “think like a journalist” and do some digging to learn more about the source of information. Some questions you can ask yourself:
- Is what I’m reading, watching or listening to a news report? An opinion column? An advertisement? A satirical piece?
- Does the source have an “About Us” or similar page?
- Can you find biographical information or contact information for its employees and contributors?
“One sneaky way to fake credibility is to attribute a source to a website that looks very similar to a reputable news source,” Smith says. “For example, instead of nbcnews, it might be ncbnews.”
3. Be Aware Of Your Own Biases
Before you consume content, are you assuming or hoping that the information you’ll be presented is true? Or false?
Confirmation bias — which is the tendency to search for information that reinforces your beliefs — can be at play, explains NLP. People are wired to uncritically accept new information when it supports what they want to believe, Smith says.
“So, if you read a headline that is shocking, but confirms your views, you should probably be extra critical,” he says.
Another thing to keep in mind: The Gallup/Knight Foundation reported that Americans commonly share news stories with others, but primarily do so with like-minded people.
4. Consider The Message
The doctored viral image, Gonzales says, is a prime example of fake content being packaged “too perfectly.”
When considering a message, you should also consider if it’s overtly or aggressively partisan and look to see if it uses loaded language, excessive punctuation (!!!) or all caps for emphasis. Another red flag is if it claims to contain a secret or tells you something that “the media” doesn’t want you to know, according to NLP.
5. Search For More Information
While social media platforms are now flagging posts that contain false information or lack important context, you can’t rely on social media sites to do the fact-checking for you, Gonzales says.
6. Go Deeper On The Source
Look around on the source website. Does the source have a policy to promptly correct errors and do so in a transparent manner? Also, look for disclaimers on the site to see if the content is labeled as satire.
Fake sites are also known to link to sources that don’t actually exist or actually say the opposite of what the article claims, Smith says.
The NLP gives these helpful prompts to determine the legitimacy of content:
- Search the byline. Is the content creator a real person?
- Is what being reported old or outdated information?
- Can you confirm key dates being shared, like the date, time and location?
- Search for quotes used to see if they are presented in context and accurate.
- Do a reverse image search on photos and graphics to see if they appear elsewhere online. Have the images been altered or shown in a different context?
The takeaway here? Fabricated news and content can be packaged in a variety of clever ways. But, keeping these steps in mind can help you filter out deceptive content and be a savvy consumer of information.
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