We’ve all done it – seen a headline that winds us up, screenshotted it, then sent it to a friend who’s likely to believe the same thing. Maybe even shared it on our story. We didn’t read the article and why would we? The headline said what we already know to be true. The problem is there’s a decent chance it was nonsense – unfortunately, these days, fake news and online misinformation are rife.
Why Does Fake News Matter?
Fake news isn’t just annoying, it shapes a lot of how we think, influences a lot of our decisions, and spreads a lot faster than actual truth. Health misinformation can convince people to avoid treatment, political fake news can influence elections, financial scams can cost people their savings.
Worst of all is the algorithm doesn’t care if it’s true or not. It just cares about results – whether we click, like, share etc. It’s completely unbiased in its annihilation of reality.
How to Spot Fake News
Firstly, check the source. If it’s a random website we’ve never heard of, it’s likely rubbish – credible sources have reputations to protect, after all.
Secondly, actually read the article – boring I know but it stops us looking like fools and believing nonsense because often the article doesn’t actually support what the title says.
Next, look for the evidence. Real stories from respected sources cite studies, experts, data etc. Fake news just makes claims without fact-checking and expects us to believe it.
Then, check the date. Old stories tend to get recycled if they got good engagement in the past, so if it’s not current, ignore it.
If you’re interested in going the extra mile, you can use fact-checking sites like BBC reality check, or even reverse image search to see if you can find where the images used actually came from.
Summary
In today’s world, it’s almost terrifying how easy it is to be a puppet of misinformation and fake news, but we can use the advice above to protect both ourselves and others.
Don’t believe everything you read, don’t spread misinformation, don’t get stuck in an echo chamber and don’t stop questioning.
Not sure what an echo chamber is? Read everything you need to know about them in this short article here: