Check Your Sources Before Social Sharing
Updated: Jul 9, 2020
Did you hear about the dolphins in Venice?!
Or, the woman who stole a $20 bill that fell from another woman’s wallet in the grocery store?
Or, how Trudeau really does have COVID-19?
Stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Please, stop.
And check your sources before sharing.
As we’re inundated with COVID-19 updates on our social feeds, we have a new-found important requirement that goes beyond the social distancing measures we’re doing. And that’s ensuring the information you consume and decide to share on your profile is reliable.
It’s easy to get caught up in the media storm, which is churning out up-to-date stories to keep us abreast of all the news (stop giggling like a third grader. I said, A-breast).
With that comes the responsibility to ensure that the information you’re consuming is factual.
You know. Like….that it’s true.
So, how do you do that?
How do you ensure the information you want to share is actually true?
Our Favourite Approach
Teen Hannah Logue does a great TED talk on this concept, and it’s worth a watch (it’s only seven minutes. You’ve watched longer Ellen videos).
She came up with her own acronym when it comes to fact-checking your sources:
It’s the FABLE Approach
Find the original source (ensure you can see or hear it from the original source)
Analyze the headline (was it written to be juicy? Not concerned with the truth?)
Bias: check your own bias. What’s your internal bias? This will help you determine if you’re eager to share something that aligns with your own bias, even if you’re not sure that it’s true.
Look to fact-checkers: Snopes is a great fact-checker that’ll quash your questioning.
Exert Self Control: if you’re not sure the article is accurate, then resist the urge to share it.
A Quick Facebook Fact Check
If you look at your Facebook feed and see shared articles, Facebook names the website name from which the article derives. It will immediately give you clarity as to whether or not the source has some weight to it.
If you see it’s from NYTimes, you can feel confident that journalists are working to ensure they have the correct information. If it comes from dolphinlover.com, then you’ll want to undergo the FABLE method to help determine if their information is actually correct.
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