International Fact-Check Day is on 2 April, and it’s only fair that we observe the “holiday” to learn about protecting the general public from misinformation or “fake news”. So, what do fact-checkers ask themselves when reading the news—and what can we learn from them? Google has shared a few ways for us to keep in mind the next time we question something we read online.
“Fact-checkers hold an important job of verifying all the facts and claims in a story to ensure it’s accurate and represented fairly. But we can also play a part in spotting and not spreading misinformation,” wrote Google.
What is the source?
So, let’s say that you’re scrolling through Facebook or Twitter and you come across an interesting article shared by either one of your friends, or through an account that you follow. The article has an outrageous headline, and you might not even click on it—because the title is all you really need to know about the situation. But… how do you know if it is even legit?
Well, the first thing I recommend you do—if you haven’t already—is actually read the article to learn more about the context. According to Google, if you’re still unsure of its legitimacy, make sure you know where the news is coming from. The news should be from a news source or platform you trust, but if it’s from a less known platform you should check to see if they’ve added sources. Do not share the news if you cannot locate or verify the original source.
Who is the expert?
it’s important to separate experts from emotional opinions. Make sure the expert writing about the subject is someone with recognised authority on the subject.
Instead of legitimate news articles about the subject you’re interested in, fake news articles that would try and get readers to do something like share, subscribe or buy a product. Others would focus on how to drum up fear and hate—or shock people into believing and sharing the “news”.
“Sadly, there are people who spread potentially harmful and wrong information to cause hurt or mischief. Think before you share,” wrote Google.
Double-check with Google
If an article you are reading is too outrageous or sounds too good to be true, you could easily look it up on Google to see if it really is legitimate. Google recommends using Google News to run a search of the story and see if a reputable media source is reporting the same thing.
To find Google News, you can first try and search up the news source or topic you’re looking for. Usually, some news-based results will show up under “Top Stories”. But you could also press “News” next to “Images” to find more results.
Additionally, you can also use Google Images to look up an image’s context. Images can be faked or used out-of-context. So, if something you see looks a bit strange, right-click the image and press “Search Image with Google Lens” to see how else the image is used or where it might have come from.
Check a YouTube video’s basic info
Have you ever come across a video on YouTube that seems to have answers no one else does? Well, it can likely be a video containing fake information. To make sure you’re watching the content you can trust, check if the channel is verified or if there are other content, social, and website links that can help vouch for the video.
For example, our own YouTube videos will at least include a caption containing the gist of the video, along with a link to where you can find more information about the topics we talked about. We would also usually add sources into our videos themselves.
Check the URL for information about the source
We can sometimes be so caught up with the news and information itself that we would forget to check the URL of the site itself. Google recommends that when you’re reading the news you find online, make sure you take a moment to look at the website’s domain address.
“Misinformation sites often try to look like a reputable site with a similar name,” added Google.
Other things you can do to make sure you’re reading legitimate content is to run any questionable stories through Google’s Fact Check Explorer. Alternatively, there are also sites like Reuters, and local ones like Sebenarnya to look through.
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