How to catch and debunk false information

Basic steps

2 min readSep 25, 2017

Be alert when you see: Sensational wordings, emotional language, promotional writing and obvious exaggeration in the headlines. They often contain misleading information.
Ask yourself: Who is sharing this information? Is it from someone you know who often shares questionable information? Is the original producer of the news known for partisanship, satirical stories, sensationalism, inaccurate reporting or prank?
Check if other news outlets have the same story. Journalists do make mistakes — probably more often than you might think. News outlets’ websites and social media accounts could have been hacked (it happened many times).
Before you react: Read everything, watch the entire video. Nuances and contexts are often buried in the report somewhere in the middle.
Be skeptical about a photo. Suspect manipulation: Is it possible that the image has been altered with software like PhotoShop? Could the image be old or from another place or about an irrelevant event?

If it’s an image, try to reverse image search.
Check the profile of the user who is sharing the story or the reporter/organization that produced the information on Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and other platforms. Go through the history of the user’s past posts.
If you can, contact the person who shared the information directly.
Also check the profile of the people quoted (interviewed) in the story on Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and other platforms.
If the story includes hyperlinks, click all of them and read the original material. Misleading news reports can contain lots of external links to credible information, but they often intentionally misinterpret or misrepresent the original information in their stories.
Try to guess the motivations of the person or organizations that are producing the information. Financial gain, anger, political ideology, spite, hatred, frustration, joke, amusement, and there are many other reasons why people share information. It gives you a clue about what to look for next.

Verification Handbook by Craig Silverman
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