Sometimes it can feel hard to get to the truth of what’s really going on. Between podcasts, social media, online news, and traditional news, there are a lot of people with a lot of things to say. It doesn’t matter how often you watch the news, or your level of education, it’s a problem that affects everyone.

At the same time, the internet is a great place to express yourself. Your voice can reach millions of people, but with great power comes great responsibility.

Spot the red flags

The first step is to check if the article or post has typos, errors in its reporting, a low number of readers or is brand new to the internet.

If you’re still questioning your media sources, there are even more tools to help you find your way online, including newswise, bemediasmart and newsliteracy. If you spot an article being shared that you don’t think is trustworthy, you can also report it. On Facebook, there is even a false news button! 

Want more? Sign up to Evidence for Democracy’s Truth Pledge and check their Truth Toolkit to understand more about why people share misinformation online, and what you can do about it. To learn more about misinformation in general, Apathy is Boring has a useful guide.

On a scale of 1-9, where 1 means you have no trust at all and 9 means you have a high degree of trust, how do you feel about each of the following when it comes to trusting them to act in the best interest of the public:

Tricks of the Internet: Bots and Fake Social Media Accounts

It’s not just your friends sharing potential “fake news”

As much fun as social media can be, things can also get a little weird. People can create fake social media accounts designed to look like someone else - like a celebrity, company, or politician. They might have the right photo or display name, but when you dig a little deeper it’s someone else posing as them. Not cool.

You might also come across “bots” - accounts created and run by computer programs that are designed to look like real people and can post content, re-share, or send messages. 

That’s a lot of Bots: 

Twitter in particular has a lot of bots. In fact, some estimate there are 48 million bots on the platform, more than 1 in 10 of all the accounts.

Understanding the information bubble

Sorry to burst your bubble, but social media platforms have a business model that is dependent on you scrolling on their apps and websites for as long as possible. That’s why you go on it for what seems like a minute but reemerge an hour later, dazed and confused. These platforms have designed software using a set of instructions called algorithms that look at the posts, videos, and articles you read, like, and click. You end up seeing more news, videos, and posts based on what you’ve looked at before because it knows what you like and serves up more of that. It means that unless you look at different news sources, you’re not getting a lot of variety in your news. That’s why it’s called a bubble. 

Pics or it didn’t happen: Spotting other kinds of fake content online 

A picture can say a thousand words, but sometimes, you just want it to tell you one thing - real or fake? Note sure if it’s #Authentic? It is easy to check.  

• First do a Google “reverse image search.” Right click on an image (or if you’re on your smartphone, long-pressing or taking a screenshot) and select “reverse image search” or “google search image.”

• This opens a new search window that shows you places the image has appeared. If the image has been changed, or a new headline added, you should be able to tell.

• If that does not work, Snopes has a “fauxtography” section that collects images on the internet and checks their original source.

Videos can also be manipulated through voiceovers, subtitles, or edits that remove important context.

• It might seem obvious, but the first thing you should do is trust your instincts when it comes to videos you see online. Does it seem strange? Does this story seem real?

• Just like verifying a news source, a simple online search can often verify whether a video is legitimate. If you do find that other sites have posted the video, check the language they use to describe it. Phrases such as “seems like” or “appears to be” are often signs that journalists themselves don’t know if the source is legitimate.

• If you’re still unsure, try doing a reverse image search on the thumbnail of the video, or you can use a tool like Amnesty International’s YouTube Data Viewer.

For more resources on how to spot and check fake viral videos, The Verge has a great guide, as does Canada’s National Observer.

Parody

Parody sites look and sound like real news, but they’re not actually real news. They get creative with news stories in order to make us LOL. Often times the news is a real bummer, and sometimes, you just need a little uplifting humour that pokes fun at the news. But, when these stories are shared, sometimes they get mistaken for real news. It’s an easy mistake!

Here are some funny and common satire sites you may have come across: The Onion, Clickhole, Canadian-based The Beaverton, and Reductress. There are many others on the internet and TV.

One of the beautiful things about the internet is our exposure to all kinds of people and ideas. Peoples’ varying cultural values, creativity, and life experiences are essential to problem solving. We need everyone to work together to make the world a better place. It’s important to respect everyone’s differences, and where you can, try to see things from someone else’s perspective.

Unfortunately, sometimes people become a victim of abuse or online harassment. There are ways for you to stop online abuse and harassment. They aren’t perfect, but there are ways to get help. If you are the victim of personal attacks, hate speech, stalking, or any kind of behaviour that makes you feel unsafe, you can always report content to social media platforms. Check the how-to’s from Twitter and Facebook. You can also block accounts or remove them from your friends’ list.

That’s not all you can do. Services like iheartmob.org can help you record offensive messages or content you’ve been sent. The organization’s volunteers offer support and advice. Finally, if a situation escalates to a point where you feel your personal safety is being threatened, tell the police about it. 

How to be a positive influencer online

When you’re communicating online, it’s easy to forget that you’re talking to real people. After all, a Tweet or Facebook post doesn’t have a facial expression, body language, or tone of voice, which makes it difficult to judge the meaning of people’s words. 

Think about the values that are important to you; how do you like to be treated? There’s no reason why those values should change when you’re speaking to someone face-to-face versus when you’re posting a message for someone online. There’s still a person behind that screen. 

How do you go from a negative to a positive? Easy. Share stories about people, events, and experiences that you admire and support, instead of oppose or hate. Share the love. Spotlight solutions, don’t just highlight the problems. Sharing (the good stuff) is caring.