This in a link to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. There are many people that believe false information about our election security. Use this official site to help assuage your fears.
Blog
Beware “Pink Slime”
Partisan local news outlets are filling the void left by local media. The U. S. has lost over 2000 local newspapers since 2004. Find this and also tips on how to vet news sources.
Is that Twitter screenshot fake or real?
It can be difficult to discern whether Twitter screen shots are real or fake. This BBC disinformation specialist gives several useful tips to know.
No, that sign isn’t real
Just because a picture looks plausible doesn’t mean you should necessarily believe it. News Literacy Project reminds us of easy ways to check for authenticity.
Doctored Oz Photo and Fake Florida Banned Books List
Here is a link to the News Literacy Project’s page that explains how to question “photos” and other posts. Be careful about emotionally charged content without links and citations. Check into these before you believe them or share them. If there are no news articles or links to credible documents associated with them, you should probably disregard them.
How to Know What to Trust
Here is a link to the News Literacy website. You will find a seven step process for filtering information for reliability and credibility. It has you reflect on your own emotions as well as analyze the source.
Why People Fall for Conspiracy Theories
This link takes you to the News Literacy Project page that includes this and other reports on how you can safeguard your media consumption.
Monkeypox Falsehoods
A viral graphic containing alarming falsehoods about monkeypox is analyzed by the News Literacy Project. Can you spot the disinformation?
Critical Thinking vs. Outrage
From The News Literacy Project: “Provoking outrage remains a common goal of misinformation purveyors. People are generally better at detecting misinformation when they slow down and engage their logical, critical faculties. But strong emotions quickly circumvent these higher-order abilities and cause people to like and share online content too quickly. Outrage is one of the most effective emotional targets that purveyors of misinformation can use to get their messages to spread widely. Whether it’s claims that wildly exaggerate runaway gas prices or inflation, or posts designed to galvanize antipathy for a particular public figure, outrage continues to prove itself a major vulnerability in people’s information defenses.”
Pseudoscience
Be careful about the “facts” shared on the Internet that are not based on real science. Nutrition advice can drive sales for a “nutritionist” touting a diet or detox or supplements but waste your money or actually be unsafe. Many states don’t require formal training for nutritionists, so that title can be used freely. Always check credentials to make sure they are registered dietitians or physicians. Even then, it is a good idea to corroborate their findings or recommendations with others in their field.