Misinformation and the Digital Age: How to Stay Informed and Unbiased

Posted by edwardjohnson on October 12th, 2019

The internet is a black hole of words. That is to say, there is a lot of stuff on there, but not all of it is right or accurate. It is extremely difficult and getting harder by the day to tell what information is real, what is fake, and what has been made up to direct internet traffic. There are some clear ways to tell if the website will give you the information you require or if it is just another clickbait website.

1. The address bar

Finding the right website begins with the right address bar. It should start with an https:// with the "S" indicating that it is a safe website that is encrypted. This encryption transfers data to protect you and them from hackers. A good example of this is if you are looking up the value of "Iraqi dinar future prediction" for a research paper. The website listed in the attached link has a clear "S" indicating that it is safe for you to use.

A website without the "S" is not necessarily a scam website or a fake one, but there is no knowing if it is safe to use. There is always the possibility it will transfer a virus to your computer. Many internet search browsers like Google Chrome will warn you the website is unsecured. It will give you the option of reconsidering your choice of entering the website.

2. The story sounds too ridiculous to be true

If the story sounds outrageous and unbelievable, it probably is. These stories do not necessarily need to say they saw a two-headed Elvis, but if the subject is too ridiculous, you should check the source of the news item or fact. Many websites look like real news sites or "expert" websites for products. They are trying to boost their website ranking through association with current fads or news articles.

3. The stories are politically biased

If the website is left-leaning or right-leaning, it will be obvious from the website content. These types of websites and stories will offer massive opinions that are only for one political agenda. They might be presenting only a handful of the facts while leaving out others. If the information doesn't support their world view, you can be sure that it is incomplete or inaccurate.

4. The reviews are fake

If the website has reviews about the quality of its content and they are only glowing, then they are fake. Not everything is glowing for that book review. If there is nothing negative about information, then the author of the website skews it.

Some of the reviews will also provide more information about a perspective than is presented in the articles, such as an article about firefighting and a real firefighter leaves a note about how they have done their job. You will learn more from the people connected to the story than the story itself.

5. Look for the story elsewhere

The biggest way to verify the information is correct for the product you are looking up, or for the news story, is to look for it elsewhere. If you cannot find more information or the story being repeated elsewhere online, then it is fake. You will need to look for it through legitimate websites. Looking for information elsewhere includes that news report where that celebrity dies. If you can't find it on other legitimate websites like the FoxNews website, it is fake.

It is also good to note that even the legitimate news websites skew in political directions, so looking at multiple versions of the story will provide an accurate version of the story. It is also a good idea to research what you are reading in the stories for the accuracy of information presented. Make sure you know what abbreviations mean and not what you think they mean.

6. Reading source links

Yes, Wikipedia is a terrific website, but the writers add to it as a free information platform and not all the content is accurate. What is accurate are the source links at the bottom of the page. If the article about chemistry has any credibility, it should have several scientific journal entries at the bottom of the page. If there are also outrageous claims listed as facts, then they are probably not true.

7. No author web pages

It is always suspect information when there is no listed author for the information. You might conclude the webpage owners wrote the information, but this is not always true if there are sources at the bottom of the page. An article author should be listed somewhere on the web page. Anything without this is a suspect website.