Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a scourge of fake news and scaremongering. It is spreading around the world at a rate faster than coronavirus. Fake news is not airborne, it is spread through social media. It does not attack our lung tissue; it preys on our emotions and relies on our human nature to keep it going.
When faced with a piece of information the first hurdle is to figure out what you are looking at. Is this published research data? Is this someone’s interpretation of information? Or is this someone’s opinion?
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, some reliable websites you can refer to for information are:
1. World health organisation www.who.int
2. National government department websites. In South Africa refer to the National Department of Health www.health.gov.za
3. Health organisations such as the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa (www.nicd.ac.za/), or the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov/) are great resources for up to date information.
If you are specifically looking for guidelines on restrictions, then make sure that you are on a website that refers specifically to your country. Different countries may have slightly different guidelines, particularly with regards to social distancing and the rules that apply.
When you click on a link and are taken to a website; check that the address in your browser address bar matches the site that you think you are visiting. If in doubt, search for the organisation yourself in a new tab; or type the known address directly into the address bar. Just because a document appears to be on an official letterhead it does not make it legitimate. Anyone with even the most basic IT skills can cut and paste a letterhead onto information that they have taken from another source.
To check the credibility of a website, I usually type the website name followed by ‘credibility‘ into a Google search. I also check for the authors credentials at the end of the article.
If you are reading a news article remember that a journalist has written the article.
Questions to ask yourself could include:
Have I heard of the news source before? What type of news source is it? Is it a Tabloid? Or perhaps a Business paper? Is it a reputable institution? Has the journalist disclosed the source of their information? This is crucial!
Information coming from published research or a wire service such as Reuters is obviously more credible than a celebrity face book post. Be aware of the words used. They will tell you whether something has been proven or is still being tested. Words like ‘may’, ‘suggest’ and ‘possibly’ usually show that research is still in progress.
If you have not heard of the news source before then do a Google search to check credibility by typing the news source name followed by credibility into a Google search.
My general rule with media articles is to ask myself what the intent of this article is. Is it to inform me of something? Or is it to stir up my emotions? Look at the type of language used. When there is an excessive use of adjectives it’s usually to trigger emotions. Examples are phrases like evil acts or toxic vaccines. Credible sources will present information, facts and figures. They will leave you to decide for yourself if you think the acts are evil or the vaccines are toxic.
The phrase ‘research shows’ should always be backed up by what the research is and where it’s being done. Credible sources never hide where they get their information from; in fact they should give recognition to the researchers. If an article claims that experts agree, it should tell you exactly who these experts are.
Social media is a really useful tool to help stay informed. During this pandemic a lot of us are spending a substantial amount of time on social media, particularly WhatsApp. It is so easy to just hit the forward button and to send on messages. Sadly fake news is rife on this platform with many posts going viral.
- A message that has been forwarded.
- A message that claims insider knowledge; like ‘my aunts friend is the personal assistant to Minister xyz’ or ‘my best friend’s sister works in a government department’.
- Spelling and grammatical errors. Official documents and announcements very rarely have these types of errors in them.
- Illogical looking file, link or user names, for example an Instagram account belonging to barack0bama7316 is probably not really Barack Obama.
- Quotes. If someone is quoted as saying something; you can check by copying the quote and pasting it into Google. If it is a legitimate quote then transcripts will be available. If you cannot find a transcript then it is probably fake news; or at the very least should be treated with skepticism.
- It hasn’t been reported anywhere else. If social media is the only place that an important story is being made public then it should be questioned. When something hits the headlines, it will be reported by many different sources.
It only takes a few seconds to check the credibility of a source. The next time you feel the urge to hit the forward or share button, I challenge you to ask yourself the following two questions:
Is this legitimate? Google it. Use the Fact or Fake checklist (download below). Ask questions and investigate before believing information is true.
Why do I feel the need to share this? Is it because the person I am sending it to will benefit from knowing this? Is it because I was shocked when I read this, and I want to shock others? Or is it because I want to be the first person to let tell people about this?
Answering these questions will take less than a minute. If your answers show that the source IS legitimate and the receiver WILL benefit; then go ahead and share or forward. Consciously asking the two questions above, even just a few times, will form a habit.
You are now equipped to spot fake information, and to check source credibility! If you ask these two questions a few times then this method will become second nature and you will do it without even thinking.
For a reminder of what to look out for, download the ‘Fact or Fake’ checklist at the end of this post 👇👇👇
The South African Government website clearly states: Anyone that creates or spreads fake news about the Coronavirus COVID-19 is liable for prosecution. Verify the information before you share information.
Now more than ever we need to remain calm, we need to work together, and we need to step up and take responsibility for the information we spread. Take the extra minute to verify information. Don’t be the fool spreading fake news!