Tips _

Information is everywhere and sometimes it can be difficult to judge how accurate or reliable information is.
Use the STOP, THINK, CHECK method to help find accurate and reliable information.

Stop

Don’t assume that a picture or photo is giving you the whole story.

Sometimes pictures lie. If a picture has been altered or ‘photoshopped’, or simply used out of context, then it can be easy to draw the wrong conclusions. You can search for the photo or image to verify where it came from. Tools like Google Reverse Image Search can help to fact-check images.

Stop

Just because information goes viral or is trending, doesn’t mean it’s accurate.

Disinformation can be designed to provoke a strong emotional reaction and prompt instant sharing or ‘liking’ in a moment of outrage, excitement, disbelief, and so on. Social media and messaging applications make it really easy to share information quickly to wide groups of people.

Think

Ask yourself what the purpose of the information is.

Information is created to:

tell us something (news)
entertain us (satire, cartoon strips, funny videos)
persuade us (advertising)
Look at the style, tone and source of the information to help you to judge how reliable or accurate it is.

Think

Consider your own biases

Ask yourself whether the information challenges you or does it match your own views. We are more likely to believe information that supports our own views – even if it seems a bit dubious.
Formulas like algorithms can track what you read, see and hear online and generate recommendations for you based on your previous choices. So the information that you get can be highly personalised and not necessarily reflect broader views or opinions.

Think

See if the information is being reported anywhere else

If you can’t find the same information elsewhere, it could be because it is inaccurate, unreliable or out of date. This is especially true if the information appears to very topical or newsworthy.

Check

See if the information is being reported anywhere else

If you can’t find the same information elsewhere, it could be because it is inaccurate, unreliable or out of date. This is especially true if the information appears to very topical or newsworthy.

Check

Look closely at the web address

Sometimes disinformation is found on websites with a web address (URL) that looks very similar to a well-known news or media site. There might only be a small change in the spelling of the URL. If in doubt, go to the real site and compare the URLs.
If the information comes from a website that you are not familiar with, look for an “About” section to learn more about who is behind the website and why they might have this information.

Check

Look at the detail to check for accuracy

Do any dates mentioned make sense? Are there references to unnamed experts? Are the links to the author’s sources clearly visible? Information that comes from reliable and trustworthy sources is usually well written. So, watch out for typos and strange sounding sentences.

Check

Ask An Expert

Get a second opinion. There are many free fact-checking services available. Irish fact-checking sources include theJournal.ie and the International Fact Checking Network. Or ask one of our Be Media Smart Experts!

Disinfo Debunk

Ever wonder how fact-checkers figure out what’s what?

FactCheck from The Journal.ie is Ireland’s only verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network Code of Principles, with commitments to non-partisanship, fairness, and transparency

Listen to The Journal FactCheck Team explain how they do what they do.

Listen to The Journal

Disinfo Digest

Dr. Ricardo Castellini Da Silva is on-hand to give advice on learning how to recognise accurate and reliable information.

Ricardo’s Tips

Tips _

Stop

Read more than the headline.

Stop

Don’t assume that a picture or photo is giving you the whole story.

Stop

Just because information goes viral or is trending, doesn’t mean it’s accurate.

Think

Ask yourself what the purpose of the information is.

Think

Consider your own biases

Think

See if the information is being reported anywhere else

Check

See if the information is being reported anywhere else

Check

Look closely at the web address

Check

Look at the detail to check for accuracy

Check

Ask An Expert

Stay up-to-date

Disinfo Debunk

Ever wonder how fact-checkers figure out what’s what?

Disinfo Digest