How to Spot Misleading and False Information on Social Media

During the pandemic, social media has shown to be an incredibly valuable medium to stay connected with family and friends. But, there are some days when it feels like some of the posts have come straight out of the National Inquirer.  As a result, many people are having a difficult time telling the difference between legitimate science-based reporting and wild speculation—and spotting the difference is not only important but could prove to protect your health and safety.

Imagine you come upon a story that says that one magic pill will make you look like Brad Pitt or Kylie Jenner, or one better, make you immune to the coronavirus. It even has a photo. For fun, you might click on this unbelievable story, read the first two lines, and share it with all of your friends. Instead, we encourage you to pause and determine whether it’s worth sharing or posting, since it could reflect you believe the outlandish report. And worse, your friends or followers might like and re-post the report helping promote a viral, fake story.

First, consider the source. The page the story appears on may look legitimate. It may even have a legitimate-sounding media-company name, like the Auburn Post Herald. I would challenge you to click through some of the other links on the site. Are there any other stories on the site? Does the site have an “about” page? Does it have the names and phone numbers for its staff? These are some of the hallmarks of a real news media outlet. Some people who want to perpetuate falsehoods may take the trouble to make a realistic looking news story page. They don’t often take the time to fill out the other information. This is one way you can tell if a story is made up.

Check the author. Are they real? Most reporters have an extensive online presence complete with a LinkedIn profile and a long resume. The names of the people that scammers put on false stories don’t.

Are trusted mainstream sources of news also writing about the story? If it’s crazy and real, you can bet that the mainstream media will be covering it. After all, they want readers/listeners/watchers too! But they do take their responsibility to truth seriously, so they don’t report false stories.

Second, look closely. Go beyond those first few lines. Sometimes the headlines and first lines of a story would lead the reader to believe something outlandish when the story itself is pretty hum drum or uses lots of qualifying language, like scientists “may” have found an alien craft.

Check the links. When someone is reporting a true story, they link to credible sources. When they want you to believe a story is true, they link to pages and hope that you will not check to see whether the link goes to a credible, related source or to something else.

Check the date. Some people re-post an old story and people assume that it relates to whatever is going on right now. For instance, someone could share a story about a vaccine researcher getting into trouble for fraudulent research. If all you read is the headline, you would assume that the story just broke and the vaccine was the COVID-19 vaccine. In fact, the story happened in the 1990s. They modernized the typeface to make it look recent.

Third, evaluate biases.  Some news outlets favor one opinion over another. Allsides.com ranks media biases here. Try to choose a few sources from the middle of the chart. The further you get from the middle the more likely you are to find ideas that fall outside the general consensus. If you do like one of the right- or left-leaning sites, choose one from the opposite side to balance the type of news coverage you are getting.

Are you biased? Did you know that you are more likely to share things that resonate with a deeply held belief? Finding and sharing a story that confirms and reinforces your worldview is a way to tell the world you know what’s up. While it is super tempting, take an extra minute to evaluate any story that makes you say, “I knew it!”

Finally, ask for help. The University of California at Berkeley has assembled a great resource about how to tell the difference between a true story and one that is fabricated, including a list of fact-checking websites. You could also ask your friendly local librarian. They would likely be very happy to help you evaluate a news story to help determine if it’s true.

Now, more than ever, it is important to get our facts straight. Sharing fabricated news could discourage people from following important safety measures and may even put their own lives or those of others at risk.

Ray Smith is the administrative director of Corporate Development and the public information officer for Southwestern Vermont Health Care.