From social platforms to new media outlets, there is an overwhelming amount of misinformation being thrown our way.
How do you decide what is true and what is false?
"Chicago Today" spoke with the editor-in-chief of the online fact checking site, PolitiFact, Angie Holan, who gave us some guidelines.
Here are a few questions she suggests asking yourself before you share a news article online:
- Is this from an established news outlet or a reputable newspaper? If you don’t recognize the source, search a news outlet you are familiar with to see if they have an article with similar information.
- Does the article elicit a strong emotion? Be weary of anything that evokes a strong sense of fear or anger. Many posts that aren’t accurate tend to play on people’s feelings.
- Does the article contain accurate quotes? Many times quotes are taken out of context.If a quote seems outlandish, a quick google search can often bring up the full context of a quote.
- Are there sources cited in the article? If an article is making bold claims without any notable sources or references from an expert, it may be false.
- What if I can’t verify if an article is real or not on my own? You can always email the Politifact team at truthometer@politifact.com. They will do their best to try and verify the information for you.
