Everyone has heard the funny saying, “If it’s on the Internet, it must be true!”  We all laugh when we hear this, but do we take that into account when we are looking at information online? The Internet delivers us the world of information and news at our fingertips. How can we know the information we see is factual? Just like purchasing products, we need to be good shoppers of information and research what we see to make sure the information is factual before we share with others.

When we see information that is obviously fake, we just say that’s fake news. Some information is false but designed and written so that it can seem true on the surface. False or misleading information can be broken down into three distinct categories:

Disinformation – false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors or social media) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth. (Miriam Webster – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinformation)

Misinformation – incorrect or misleading information inadvertently spread. No malicious intent is involved in the sharing of this false or incomplete information. (Britannica – https://www.britannica.com/topic/misinformation-and-disinformation)

Malinformation – information that is based on truth (though it may be exaggerated or presented out of context) but is shared with the intent to attack an idea, individual, organization, group, country, or other entity. The dates, locations, circumstances, and outcomes of the content may be altered to fit a certain narrative or prove a false point. (Princeton Library – https://princetonlibrary.org/guides/misinformation-disinformation-malinformation-a-guide/)

Why do people post this false or misleading information?

This content is shared via social media and websites via ads or under the guise of news content. People or organizations may promote unverified stories and advertise information via social media and the web to make money. Views and clicks can lead to revenue. For example, you may see content (sometimes marked as paid content) with a misleading or false headline about a celebrity or organization, which ends up being an advertisement for a product.

Some websites post information and stories to increase views and clicks to help generate ad sales. Some sites and posts are designed to influence people into believing certain points of view and creating a call to action to vote a certain way or feel a certain way about people or countries. These sites and posts are paid for by organizations, and even countries to influence people around the world.

Why do I keep seeing false or misleading information?

You may be asking, if I’ve never clicked on this type of content, then why do I see this on my social media and news feeds? You may be seeing it because friends have shared the information and you haven’t reported or asked to block this type of information from your feed. You will see this information based on sites you’ve visited and other posts you have liked. Social media uses a program or algorithm to determine what information you may like to see based on previous posts, websites, and news stories you’ve viewed.

Another factor is called “confirmation bias.” We click on stories and posts that align with our point of view and the algorithm uses that information to make sure that you see information that aligns with your point of view. This algorithm, in some instances, keeps you from seeing posts that share opposing sides of a topic or news story.

We also have a built-in tendency to believe something when it goes viral and is posted by several people or sites. These can be posts by actual people but can also be done by bots through multiple accounts to push a story or information to influence people’s decisions or to increase revenue.

How do I evaluate the information I’m seeing?

First, consider the source of the information. If posted from an organization or news site, look over their website for information on their mission. What are the goals or objectives the organization is trying to achieve? Is it just to inform or are they trying to influence people about certain beliefs or events? Look for contact information. Are reporters and other staff listed and ways to contact the individuals or organization? Lack of contact information could be a red flag that the site is not legitimate. In the case of news organizations look to see if there is a corrections or retractions section on the site. Legitimate news sites will have a section where they post corrections and retractions to stories. If an individual reporter, look for biographical information about the reporter and other stories they have written as well as any reviews of materials the author or reporter has written.

Look at other stories the individual or organization has written or posted. Do they all have the same slant, or do they cover both sides of a story? Look for articles from other sources on the same story and compare the information provided. Is the information the same for all the articles? Do other sources have additional information or report the events differently than the article you first read?  Look at the Media Bias chart (https://app.adfontesmedia.com/chart/interactive) to see how news organizations might lean when reporting news. This chart is constantly updated.

Look at the stories to see if they are factual stories, opinions, or satire or humor. Some stories go viral and are shared/posted as fact when the author’s objective was merely to entertain.

Second, check the author of the information. Look for an online resume or biographical information on the author. Is this an area they have expertise in or a field they write about regularly? Do previous articles written by this person have the same style of writing and provide balanced information about the topic? Who have they worked for and has their employer influenced how they have written previous stories? Does the author of the story provide supporting research information or additional articles on the topic with links so the reader can dive deeper into the topic? Do they reference interviews with experts on the topic or witnesses to the event being reported.

Third, check the date. Many articles are posted as current events, but actually happened in the past. This is done to emphasize a certain point of view, create a false call for action on a topic, or create a sense of excitement or fear. Conduct a search for the same article or event and look at the dates of the posts or articles online to see if the dates match.

If pictures are a part of the article, you can do a reverse image search (https://lifehacker.com/tech/how-to-run-a-reverse-image-search) to determine if the picture is a part of the actual event or item being reported or if it was from another event at another time and even in a different location.

The last step in evaluating information online is to check your biases. Does this article align with what you believe about the subject or event being posted or reported? As we talked about earlier, our biases in what we click on help populate our feed and can eliminate articles that may report another point of view. Discussing events with friends via chat, text, web call or face-to-face helps us look at events and information from different points of view. Be sure to discuss information with friends and colleagues that have a different perspective than yourself.

If you are still unsure look to fact checking sites such as Snopes, FactCheck, PolitiFact, and many others.

We should not have to research the information we see online, but it is essential to make sure that not only are we getting all the facts about current events, but that the information being presented is true and not just a way to influence us or sell ads or products.

By being a good consumer of information online, we can make good decisions that will improve our lives.

Helpful links:

Evaluating Internet Resources – Georgetown University – https://library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content

Evaluating Digital Sources – Purdue Online Writing Lab – https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/evaluating_sources_of_information/evaluating_digital_sources.html

How to Run a Reverse Image Search – Lifehacker – https://lifehacker.com/tech/how-to-run-a-reverse-image-search

How to Do a Reverse Image Search From Your Phone – PCMag – https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-do-a-reverse-image-search-from-your-phone 

You Tube Data Viewer – https://citizenevidence.amnestyusa.org/

Snopes – https://www.snopes.com/

PolitiFact – https://www.politifact.com/

FactCheck – https://www.factcheck.org/

Reuters Fact Check – https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/

Associated Press Fact Check – https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/

Media Bias Chart – https://app.adfontesmedia.com/chart/interactive