Fact-Checking

In today's digital age, misinformation can be easily shared with just the click of a button. Fabricated stories, rumours, and fake news can spread across social media platforms, reaching thousands or even millions of people within minutes.

This rapid dissemination of false information can have serious consequences, leading to confusion, division, and harm to individuals or communities. It is more important than ever to evaluate the sources of information we encounter online critically and to be vigilant in discerning fact from fiction.

Many charismatic people use their skills to sway large audiences. World leaders, either elected or in their positions through other means, have a powerful influence over their people. We mere mortals need to be vigilant for misinformation.

We don’t have access to the thought processes of the people in charge, so we trust what they tell us. Even if we trust the information, the need for fact-checking cannot be overstated.

Fact-checking isn’t just about taking one source at face value. Cross-referencing information from multiple reliable sources helps paint a clearer picture. Many websites (Snopes, FactCheck.org and PolitiFact) give commentaries on significant issues.

Social media is a tool with limited fact-checking use. Opinions abound, and those opinions spread quickly, becoming a worldwide game of Chinese Whispers.

Even though the players in the above classroom game don’t mean to change the message, it barely resembles the original when it reaches the last person.