How to Navigate Misinformation

This is a Wild West where fact-checking is becoming rare.

Beyoncé was paid $10 million to endorse Kamala Harris for President, right? Elon Musk blocked Pride-related content on X?

Nope, those are lies that went viral on Facebook recently.

This year started with the announcement from Meta that the company will end fact-checking across its social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. This means that we all need, at least occasionally, to be private investigators.

Facebook’s fact-checking policy originally came in response to criticism that Facebook hadn’t done enough to curb misinformation during the 2016 presidential race. Now, this return to the Wild West has Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitting there will be more “bad stuff” on the platforms, putting an even heavier burden on regular people to decipher what is real versus what is fake.

All of this after three-quarters of Americans say they have seen inaccurate news coverage about the 2024 election, according to Pew Research. That same survey found that about half of Americans “generally find it difficult to determine what is true and what is not when getting news about the election.”

Or, anything, really. The gates will open more widely for fraud and deception — from conspiracy theories spreading and an uptick in financial scams, to catfishing schemes and other attacks on vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly.

The growing sophistication of artificial intelligence only amplifies the risk. There’s already concern that digital evidence and deepfakes are posing challenges in courtrooms, as attorneys and judges reckon with how best to vet information introduced in cases. Will current perjury laws be enough to ward off inauthentic information?

Hopefully everyone reading this already knows that:

• Disney World never planned to lower the drinking age to 18

• The loss of ice in Antarctica is quite significant

• O.J. Simpson died from cancer, not the Covid-19 Vaccine

Some Pointers:

• Follow the money. Who is paying for the content you’re seeing? What emotion is being triggered, and who benefits from the story being told?

• Think of information as a mosaic. Don’t rely on a single source. Good investigations cross-reference hundreds of data points.

• When in doubt, ask. Especially on social media, content is targeted to your emotions. Ask someone you trust to help you think critically.

• Look for primary sources. Who are the “experts”? What research is being cited? Dig into the methodology and legitimacy.

Let’s all be vigilant with the information out there.

Call for a free consultation at 415-905-0462.