In today’s day and age, the adage “it must be true, I saw it on the internet” couldn’t be further from the truth. The internet, for all its possibilities, is also filled with misinformation, unfounded conspiracy, propaganda, special interests, and sometimes things that are downright dangerous to your health, personal and financial safety, and reputation.
If you don’t know who or what to trust and need a few tools to help you sort fact from fiction, here is a simplified guide to weighing information and fact-checking you can do on your own. This is not a comprehensive list and we encourage you to always do your own research as well.
*Below is a supplement piece to The Refresh 12/31/20 edition. To sign up to receive The Refresh, click HERE.
Open the Link – One important caveat to this rule: this does not apply if you receive a link in an email or in a messenger app that is not from a trusted source or seems fishy. When in doubt, delete it or move on. Please also see “The URL” below before clicking on any links for your own safety. With that warning in mind, you can’t fact-check information if you are blindly accepting it based on a headline. There is often nuance in the piece, facts, differing opinions, and methodology to consider.
Check the Date – All information has an expiration date. This is especially true with studies and polls. If you are consuming information that was distributed in April and it’s December, chances are it is no longer accurate. Always do your own searching for the most up to date information about a topic.
Check the Creds -Does the author or the subject in the piece have the ability to truly speak about the subject with accuracy? Do they have the credentials to back it up? Do they actually work in the field in which they are speaking? A quick Google or LinkedIn search can provide the answers. This will prevent you from sharing a piece about cancer prevention from a person that got their “doctorate” from a mail-in matchbox cover ad in Tijuana.
“About Us” – You can usually find this section at the top of the page or at the very bottom. All reputable pages will have an “About Us” section that will describe their organization, mission, and ways to contact them. This does not mean that an “about us” section makes the site credible, but you will be able to weed out the ones that are not if they are missing this section. In addition, this section will also provide if the site is a satire or meant for entertainment purposes only. You don’t want to share a link and outrage just to find out it was a joke.
Sensational Language – If a headline is written sensationally, perhaps with a lot of all-caps and exclamation points, it’s a red flag. Look for exaggerated language and subject lines meant to provoke or anger. These should be met with skepticism. Especially if they are purportedly from legitimate news sites. News writers don’t write that way. Provocateurs do.
Sources are KEY – When an article cites a source, be sure to do your own research. This is true even if the organization cited sounds very legit. For example, a recent article was circulated on social media repeatedly that cited the “American Organization for the Study of Human Biology”. The problem? The organization does not exist and was made up in an effort to deceive and spread misinformation. The “Zombie Research Society” however? Totally legit. You never know until you check the sources.
The URL – Really look hard at the URL of the link you are about to share or click. Is something spelled wrong, such as YuoTube instead of YouTube or FakeBook instead of Facebook? Also, make sure you don’t fall for sites that look official with a .edu or .org followed by a .co or .lo. Clicking on some of these links can actually open you up to cyber-attacks.
Check for Bias and Your Own As Well – It’s ok if you choose to seek sites and information that agree with you. But if you are truly looking for unbiased information, beware of language and images within the article that lean heavily one way or the other. Do they provide differing opinions? Are they using subjective language? This rule, however, does not apply to op-ed pieces. Those are designed to provide opinion on a matter and tend to have a bias as part of their very nature. Also, check your own bias. How did you come across this information? What terms did you use to search for the information? Did you use subjective language in your search? Doing so can lead to algorithmic results that lean towards your bias.
Don’t Let the Ads Fool You – Sometimes legitimate sites will have biased or inflammatory ads meant to mislead. Look for an “ad” or “sponsored” tag on the piece before jumping to conclusions. This is also true of banner ads on sites. Just because a site has what appears to be misleading banners or ad placements does not mean the site itself isn’t legit. That space is often sold on an open digital market and is designed to target YOUR particular interests, demographics, affinity categories, or bias. Often, these ads are not controlled by the site itself.
Lastly, if you are not sure, trust your gut and move on. If it seems too good, outrageous, or over the top, it probably is.
