Fake News

While disinformation is the purposeful intent to spread false information, misinformation is incorrect or misleading information used to exaggerate or misrepresent contextual information. It can also be information you perceived to be true but was not. Misinformation is common in our current information environment as we sometimes process headline titles without reading articles or rely on one source to form an argument. Misinformation is perpetuated through rumors and manipulated or falsified content and spread through click-bait titles that use language that solicit emotions from the reader. Be wary of sources where headlines use action verbs and phrases that garner an emotional reaction. Example headlines could be:

“Conservative Politician Slammed by Rachel Maddow”

“Liberals Owned at Local PTA Meeting”

“One Simple Way to Combat Cancer”

Avoiding misinformation online requires consumers of information to be skeptical. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true it probably is. For a video explanation on how Clickbait and misinformation works check out this short video: