How to identify fake news
9 ways to detect fake news
It's Monday Again!
We are gradually entering the era of full-fledged political campaigns where propaganda flies around ceaselessly.
Politicians and their supporters will flood your timeline with slanderous posts to weaken their opponent's chances, and fake news stands to become rampant during this period.
Fake news has become a pain in the neck for most of us over the years, but it is about to go to an alarming rate once again.
Social media may be turned into a great tool in the hands of those who will be creating and spreading this news.
So, as we enter into a major political campaign season once again, fake news is about to take a new turn and you need to be well prepared to protect yourself from being a victim.
To identify fake news there are a few quickies you can do.
1. Ask the sender of the forwarded message, majorly on WhatsApp and Facebook, if he/she have confirmed the information to be true.
2. Check major news channels if the news is on any.
3. For get rich clickbaits, free internet data, free airtime, and free cash, ask the sender if he has been able to receive the said free reward.
4. For images, use Google Lens or tineye.com to do a reverse image search; you will see the origin of the image.
5. For Videos, look for points in the video where there is a change in the footage, it could be the elements in the video, it could be the sound quality, it could be opacity or a quick break, or take a close look at the items in the footage.
6. For fake links. Fake links are usually used to steal identity and financial details. Any government-owned site will not be shortened using google, bitly, TinyURL, or any of such. Look for the HTTPS or Padlock sign or site heading turning to green, if you can't find any of those three, close the site quickly.
7. For slander videos, cut out of speeches and preachings, ask for the full video or just check it on youtube yourself.
8. Some Apps on Facebook are also being used to access your data and behavioral pattern. Apps that predict what you will look like in the future, your lookalike celebrity, what the future holds, and a host of other quiz related apps like that are used to mine your data. Remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2015?
9. Avoid all those forwarded voice notes, it is the easiest way to manipulate people, it usually originates from a nameless person claiming to be privy to classified information.
Our lives will be better if we choose not to believe everything we see or hear on the internet without investigating them first.
In case you find yourself in a situation where the news is about you or your product, put out the complete or correct information immediately as soon as possible and hire a PR/Digital Agency (I recommend Sparkconect Solutions) to do the talking on your behalf in a professional way.
Succeed!
Jide Bamidele