Social Media and Fake News: What You Need to Know
It's never been easier to access and share news and information. However, the internet — and social media in particular — is also very effective at spreading false information, also known as fake news.
There's more than one kind of fake news to watch out for online. For example, misinformation is incorrect information that is spread without an intent to cause harm — although it still can be a problem.
Disinformation, however, is incorrect information spread on purpose to either cause harm or manipulate people.
Then there's "malinformation" — this is a little harder to spot because it might contain something true, but it's spread with malicious intent — usually with the facts taken out of context. For example, quoting only part of what someone said so it seems like they meant something else.
It is important for all of us to know how to avoid spreading fake news, so here are a few things to think about before you share something.
It's normal to be quick to believe things that support opinions we already have — this is called "confirmation bias." But just because something seems true or helps prove our point, that doesn't mean we shouldn't do some research.
So take a moment to stop and question what you have just read or watched before you send it to others. Check the source to see if it's reliable and if its claims can be backed up.
It's also a good idea to study pictures attached to posts carefully, as eye-catching images are often paired with unrelated information in order to mislead people.
Question whether the picture really supports the text attached to it, and consider doing a "reverse image search" to check when and where it first appeared online and if it has been changed in some way.
