Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Misinformation isn’t just coming from your cranky uncle on Facebook

Misinformation on Facebook
Marcela Vieira

Minichiello writes The Sift newsletter for educators at the News Literacy Project.

I see misinformation all the time. Scrolling through Instagram, I saw a musician I follow sharing false posts about the Israel-Hamas war. Out to eat at a restaurant, a server making friendly small talk shared true crime content she finds online — while rattling off names of accounts that I later discovered were conspiracy-minded. A friend of mine thinks the Infowars conspiracy theories site is a delight. And there’s my relative who started entertaining the idea that the world is flat after watching YouTube videos.

Misinformation affects everything from our health decisions to our personal relationships to business to, of course, democracy. It’s easy to get angry when we’re confronted with misinformation — that’s what it’s designed to do — but learning how to sort fact from fiction online while also practicing empathy will go a long way in fixing the misinformation crisis.


And the News Literacy Project, where I now work after a career in journalism, can teach people how to identify credible news.

First, if you’re fortunate enough not to live in a local news desert, you should get your information from your local newspaper, radio station or TV news programs. Beware of online “news” sites that are partisan propaganda. If they have very few or no local stories but plenty of politically charged articles, it’s a red flag. Also, follow news outlets that adhere to journalism standards and ethics, such as being transparent about corrections. Quality local news not only empowers us individually, but studies show it’s also good for democracy.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Second, when navigating difficult conversations where misinformation may come up, try practicing what NLP calls “PEP”: patience, empathy and persistence. You can’t convince people of anything in one heated conversation, but if you listen you can walk away with a better understanding of how they developed their beliefs.

“We don’t all think the same,” said one of my relatives, who refused to get a Covid-19 booster shot after seeing misinformation about how it might affect someone’s hair.

I responded: “I’m not saying we need to think the same thing. I’m saying we need to know what’s true before we agree or disagree.”

It’s hard when someone you love is repeating falsehoods, but that doesn’t mean they’re not intelligent or they are a bad person. We’re living in a system where social media platforms don’t properly moderate content for misinformation and, in fact, incentivize its spread through outrage. Laws and regulations haven’t caught up to how quickly artificial intelligence technologies — including misleading images, videos and posts — are being developed.

Additionally, remember that none of us are exempt from falling for misinformation. It’s embarrassing, but it’s happened to me too. During the early days of the pandemic, photos spread online of dolphins swimming in Venice canals. It seemed mesmerizing and magical. Of course, those photos later turned out to be false. And I felt like a fool – something to remember the next time I spar with a friend over misinformation.

It’s a systemic problem. We can do our part to counter it by seeking out credible sources of news. We can keep in mind that it’s easy to be fooled by falsehoods. And we can engage in tough, face-to-face conversations with the people we care about, but lead with empathy — not accusations.

One tactic that has helped me immensely — not just in countering misinformation I see online but also when talking through hot misinformation topics with loved ones — is to simply take ... a ... pause. This is actually a news literacy skill. Being news-literate means being able to identify credible information, which is often as simple as pausing to confirm whether something is true before sharing it online or in conversations.

It also means seeking out credible news sources like your local TV station or paper. By practicing news literacy skills, we’ll be better equipped to find trustworthy information and engage in difficult conversations about conspiracy theories and misinformation.

During National News Literacy Week, which runs Jan. 22-26, you can learn how to push back on misinformation and empower yourself and your communities to seek quality, vetted information. Join us in our effort to build a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy.

Read More

"Swing state" sign under a cutout of Pennsylvania
gguy44/Getty Images

Election Overtime project prepares Pennsylvania media for Nov. 5

A new set of complementary tools designed to support accurate reporting of contested elections will be unveiled by the Election Reformers Network and other election law experts on Wednesday.

The Election Overtime project will provide journalists covering Pennsylvania’s 2024 general election with media briefings by election specialists; guides for reporting on election transparency, verification processes and judicial procedures; and an extensive speakers bureau. The briefing is designed for journalists but is open to the public. Register now.

Keep ReadingShow less
Teenage girls lying on bed looking at smart phones
The Good Brigade/Getty Images

Instagram teen accounts: Just one front in the fight for mental health

Guillermo is the CEO of Ignite, a political leadership program for young women.

It’s good news that Instagram has launched stricter controls for teen accounts, strengthening privacy settings for those under 18. Underage users’ accounts are now automatically set to private mode. The platform is also implementing tighter restrictions on the type of content teens can browse and blocking material deemed sensitive, such as posts related to cosmetic procedures or eating disorders.

Keep ReadingShow less
Young man looking angry at display of his smartphone.

The inflammatory rhetoric, meaningless speculation and lack of fact checking by the media may result in young adults rejecting traditional platforms in favor of their well-being.

urbazon/Getty Images

By focusing on outrage, the media risks alienating younger audiences

Rikleen is executive director of Lawyers Defending American Democracy and the editor of “Her Honor – Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges.” Beougher is a junior at Amherst College and a co-founder ofStudents Strengthening American Democracy.

As attacks on democracy and the rule of law continually increase, much of the media refuses to address its role in intensifying the peril.

Instead of asking hard questions and insisting on answers, traditional media outlets increasingly trade news and facts for speculative commentary that ignores a story’s contextual significance. At the same time, social media outlets and influencers stoke anger as an alternative to thoughtfulness.

Keep ReadingShow less

Athens, GA., bookstore battles bans by stocking shelves

News Ambassadors is working to narrow the partisan divide through a collaborative journalism project to help American communities that hold different political views better understand each other, while giving student reporters a valuable learning experience in the creation of solutions reporting.

A program of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, News Ambassadors is directed by Shia Levitt, a longtime public radio journalist who has reported for NPR, Marketplace and other outlets. Levitt has also taught radio reporting and audio storytelling at Brooklyn College in New York and at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., as well as for WNYC’s Radio Rookies program and other organizations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman looking off into the distance while holding her mobile phone

Seeing a lie or error corrected can make some people more skeptical of the fact-checker.

FG Trade/Getty Inages

Readers trust journalists less when they debunk rather than confirm claims

Stein is an associate professor of marketing at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Meyersohn is pursuing an Ed.S. in school psychology California State University, Long Beach.

Pointing out that someone else is wrong is a part of life. And journalists need to do this all the time – their job includes helping sort what’s true from what’s not. But what if people just don’t like hearing corrections?

Our new research, published in the journal Communication Research, suggests that’s the case. In two studies, we found that people generally trust journalists when they confirm claims to be true but are more distrusting when journalists correct false claims.

Keep ReadingShow less