8 Tips for Debunking Fake News

Hi, I'm Hari Sreenivasan.

Welcome to Take on Fake,

where we'll debunk some claims
you may have seen or even shared online.

We've spent the past year

talking to journalists and fact
checkers all over the country

about how they tackle
misinformation gone viral.

They shared with us
a bunch of tips and tools

that not only work for them,
but can work for you too.

Here are 8 steps you can take,

whether it's on your phone or your laptop

to help make sense of all the information
you're seeing on your timelines.

Know the difference between
misinformation and disinformation.

It's important to first understand
the difference between these two words.

You've probably seen or heard them a lot

over the past couple of years.

Misinformation is false
information that is spread

regardless of whether
there is intent to mislead.

Disinformation, on the other hand,
is designed to deceive you.

It might be a manipulated narrative

or completely made up facts.

Disinformation is just plain propaganda.

So now you know the types
of bad information,

what can you do when you come across them?

Check your emotional response.

Social media is designed
to get a big reaction out of you,

whether it's something to like, or love,

cry over, or get angry about.

If you're scrolling through social media

and you see something
that really speaks to you,

and like really feels right,

and you think, "Yes, that really
solidifies what I think."

That should be a warning to you
that it might be questionable.

Often, you'll find that
the facts that are included

in means that feel the most
right, are actually wrong.

Look for red flags in the post itself.

How do you know if something is wrong?

Well, there are a lot of telltale signs

that a post may not be legitimate

that you can find without leaving
your social media feed.

If you see dozens and dozens of hashtags,

take a closer look -
who is the post targeting?

What audience is the post trying to reach?

Immediately we are skeptical

because you're seeing
lots and lots of hashtags -

that's sort of a giveaway
that someone is trying

to spread something really quickly.

You might even notice
a few qanon hashtags here,

which is a fringe,

but now more populist conspiracy theories.

So immediately, that was a tip off

something does not seem right here.

Next, the posts may have
already been flagged for you.

Most social media platforms
work with independent fact checkers

and allow them to add labels

to post that are false, misleading,
or taken out of context.

Open a new tab.

New tabs are every
fact-checkers best friend.

We've talked to a lot of journalists,

and they all had one thing in common -

just look at all of the tabs.

Once you open a new tab,

the best place to start is
with an internet search.

A keyword search can show you

where the information
came from originally,

but you can also cross
reference with other sources,

and find out if what you're seeing

has already been clarified or debunked.

Check out the website.

Sometimes the social media posts
will link out to a website.

If that's the case,

you can learn a lot about
the source's legitimacy

with just a little bit of detective work.

So you always wanna do as much
research on the website as possible

before sharing something.

So always go to that website
and find their "About" page.

If there's not a lot of information there,

or there are spelling errors,
or it seems kind of generic,

that might be a signal to you

that the website's not reliable.

Try one of these tools.

Journalists use a number
of excellent free resources

to help them learn more
about a piece of information.

Found a questionable photo?

Start with a reverse image search.

And this reverse image search
is where you can kinda ask the internet,

whether it's Google
or another search engine,

"Has something been uploaded
to the internet before

with a thumbnail like this?
Can you find this online?"

For dubious websites, use Whois.

This lookup tool can tell
you who registered the domain

and when a website was first created.

If a website was created
around the same time

that the post you saw was going viral,

that may sound a few alarm bells for you.

Be prepared for breaking news.

Reliable news takes time,
but when news breaks,

information can travel faster than facts.

So what can you do to make sure

you're getting accurate
up-to-date information?

It's really helpful, I think,
if you're an individual,

to create a list with all
of these different journalists

so that you can monitor
them during breaking news.

Build your own little stable of experts

that you trust, that are verified.

And that way you might see
that what you're about to share

actually showed up here
as something that you shouldn't.

Exactly.

Ask for help.

If you see something on your feed
that needs a fact check,

reach out directly
to a trusted fact-checker

and ask them to investigate it for you.

We definitely need the public's help too,

to flag things for fact checkers.

We have an email, we have
social media accounts,

and if people have questions,
we would love to help them.

2020 has been a year.

It seems like every day has brought
some fresh breaking news,

and along with it, some right
falsehoods and outright lies.

It's been exhausting for everyone.

That's why we're especially grateful

to all of the hardworking
journalists that we've spoken to.

We've covered just a few bits
of misinformation in our 10 episodes,

but these fact checkers
have covered thousands.

So hats off to you all,
and to everyone else

who's out there checking
sources, verifying facts,

and debunking bogus claims.

Until next time.
Don't spread fake news.

keep it real.

I'm Hari Sreenivasan,
and this is Take on Fake.

Thanks for joining us this season.

We're gonna take
a little break for a while,

but we hope you keep fact
checking throughout our hiatus.

Check out the description
for a bunch of resources

to help you chase the truth.