What To Do When You See Misinformation Online

A lot of misinformation online thrives on the anger or emotional responses derived from consuming them. If a piece of content makes you angry, that might mean that it’s misinformation and your anger is exactly how the people who created it wanted you to react. Before getting angry, remember to keep calm and analyse the information instead of propagating it.

If a piece of content makes you angry or exactly confirms one of your beliefs, it may not be factual. A lot of misinformation online is too good to be true, and that’s because it is. At the same time, a lot of what one may call misinformation is often just interpretation of complicated facts. It’s important to know when it is harmful misinformation and when it’s a new perspective in a discussion.

If you have any doubts whatsover about a piece of information, NEVER RESHARE! This includes sharing the piece of content with your own interpretation (eg. quote-tweeting on Twitter). Such actions may serve to propagate the original content itself as well as the account posting it and may do more harm than good.

If you can, warn others within your circle what about the misinformation you've just seen. You should do this by taking screenshots and not sending links. It’s also good to teach your friends and family how to tell misinformation apart from facts and how to react when they see misinformation online.