Like sophisticated scams, misinformation campaigns rely on broad sharing of inaccurate, and even malicious, content. Do your part in stopping the spread of misinformation by identifying it and avoiding its proliferation. Just follow these steps.
Pause
- Conduct a visual assessment and watch out for misleading signals of credibility (ex: a .org domain does not guarantee accuracy)
- Pay attention to native ad labels, such as “paid/sponsor content”, “presented by”
- Beware of old news/video content presented as current
Assess
- Investigate the source
- Check other sources to corroborate the information
- Consult with experts and review scholarly articles on the topic
- Check if your biases affect your judgement
Share with Care
- Consider whether to use a personal or a professional account to share
- Double-check the audience with which you want to share
- Do not engage in online disputes
Based on the book Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online.