Navigating the (Dis)Information Landscape
The terrain is treacherous, but adopting some good habits can help you get your bearings.
Climate Action California is launching a semi-regular column on misinformation and how to deal with it. In this article, we provide some general tips and resources to get you started.
It will likely come as no surprise to you when I say that we are in a particularly, um, interesting era, one in which there is a great deal of noise, spin, misinformation, and outright deception. Some of it is spread by ‘news’ organizations fishing for clicks, some is shared by well-intentioned but misinformed people, and some is propagated by various entities with their own agendas.
What’s a person to do when facing a firehose of information, not all of which can be relied upon? There are no easy answers, but over time, I’ve developed a few habits which you may find just as useful as I do.
How to verify whether something is true
Be aware of what pushes your buttons! This might be the hardest one right now, as emotions are high in the turmoil of the last few months. A lot of content is designed to exploit those emotions and encourage sharing, to get more people riled up. Take the time to make sure that news story, video or meme is accurate. When in doubt, 'put a pin in it'—but don’t share it. That video might be real, but from a different place or time than claimed. Or it might be entirely fake—or AI-generated!
Make sure it’s not satire—people sometimes post news stories from satire sites or post social media content that looks real, but is actually fake. Check fact-checking sites or visit the original social media account to see if the post is authentic. When in doubt, don’t share it until you’re sure!
Don’t accept the ‘official spokesperson’s’ comments as the last word. Sometimes news organizations report on press conferences and statements by officials and corporation representatives by presenting the statements made, but without sufficient context and analysis. Statements by spokespeople need to be fact checked against reality. If a news story doesn’t provide that context, look elsewhere—see the lateral reading technique below.
Use fact-checking sites! Snopes is the most well known, but we have a whole list at climateactionca.org, including ScienceFeedback, which focuses on science and climate. The Duke Reporters’ Lab maintains a database of fact checkers on its website at https://reporterslab.org/fact-checking/.
Tip: Sometimes just typing a few keywords along with the word 'fact-check' into a search engine can help you find reliable information. For example, try searching 'EV mine fact-check.' What comes up when you try it?
Use the lateral reading technique, a.k.a. vet your sources.. Don’t just read the article or watch the video—see what others are saying about the author, presenter, publication, and the topic itself. Open another browser tab and do a quick search to get the bigger picture.
Example: you see an article saying that climate change won’t negatively impact climate yields. You see it’s written by H. Sterling Burnett. You open a new tab to read his bio and see that he’s with the Heartland Institute. Then you open another tab to research the Heartland Institute and learn that it’s known for promoting climate change denial.
Keep in mind the ‘3 S’s of science news’: spitball, supertanker, and stadium. When you see a science headline, keep in mind:
‘Spitball’—a single study isn’t the final word,
'Supertanker'—it takes many studies and time to shift scientific understanding…like turning a supertanker;
'Stadium'—when many scientists (imagine a whole stadium’s worth) independently study the same question and arrive at similar results, that’s what builds scientific consensus.
Watch out for ‘zombie’ news stories! Are multiple news organizations independently investigating this story, or is it just one article being quoted or reprinted by others? Where did the original lead come from—a credible source, or a social media account? The original story might be accurate,but it’s better when multiple reporters can verify the facts.
Tip: Newsweek, the Daily Mail, and Yahoo News often just reprint or sensationalize stories from sources. Look for the original reporting and see what it actually says! And don’t share from those outlets–share from the original source instead!
Do not enter the echo chamber. This is kind of like the zombie news story problem, but with posts and memes instead. Someone posts a claim that is false or a distortion of the facts. That same person will repeat the claim multiple times, citing their own post as a source. Other people pick up on it too. Again, open another tab, and do a little lateral reading on the topic. The truth may be very different from the tweet!
Watch out for 'thought-terminating clichés'—phrases like 'BREAKING NEWS,' '[POLITICIAN] DESTROYED on Fox News!' or 'Share if you agree!' These eye-rolling headlines are often used by digital content creators because they drive clicks. Be skeptical of whatever message they’re pushing—especially if it resonates with you. Once again, lateral reading is your friend!
Be AI alert! It’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell what’s real just by looking. There might be clues, like objects or faces in the background that appear to be melting, or gibberish writing—but AI technology is advancing quickly so those signs may soon disappear. So what can you do? Use reverse image search to see when and where the image first appeared online, and look for credible sources confirming the event or incident actually happened.
Further Resources
News Literacy Project • newslit.org
Media Bias/Fact Check • mediabiasfactcheck.com
Mindshifts: An Intellectual Humility Reflection Tool | Greater Good In Education • ggie.berkeley.edu/practice/mindshifts-an-intellectual-humility-reflection-tool/
Fake News - and how to spot it • www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-51974040
Check Yourself with Lateral Reading: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #3 • www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoQG6Tin-1E