Misinformation spreads on a multitude of channels but I feel like it’s especially problematic on Facebook.

Honestly, Snopes may be the most valuable media company in the world before this is all over.

Misinformation is a problem. How did we go from a platform where we posted pictures from our weekend to where we are today? How is this such a huge problem, recognized by both ends of the political spectrum?

Why does bad information spread so rapidly?

Nobody wants to raise their hand and say that they are part of the problem. None of us want to be told we’re wrong. That said, I would say that we have all contributed to the problem in some way. Even if you haven’t shared something explicitly, just liking or commenting (even a rebuttal comment) on a controversial post sent signals to Facebook’s algorithm that it was a valuable piece of content.

You engaged with that post. That act of engagement told Facebook’s math equation that more people should see it and made it visible in more news feeds.

If you ever wondered why you see absolute nonsense in your Facebook feed, it’s because we can’t keep our mouths shut.

We’re compelled to respond to that latest claim. The comments section is our battleground where we look for a mic drop, to shut down that MAGA hat idiot or to own the libs. We respond more frequently to rage and rage fuels the Facebook algorithm more than anything.

It’s why you see smart people believing coronavirus myths. We see misinformation posts appear in our feed because it’s solicited a negative response, which drives more engagement. Whether they are fact or fiction, the more often a post appears, just the repeated exposure of that fake piece of info makes us more likely to believe it. That method is why the film Plandemic saw so much light. Even people “hate sharing” made the ideas from it take off.

Humans collectively suffer from what Seth Godin calls the lizard brain..The instant gratification of notifications makes overcoming our lizard brains even more difficult. We don’t want to do the hard work to read that article and examine all of its nuances - we just want to share a headline. When “just the facts” gets considerably less likes and comments than the other sensationalized headline, we are incentivized to share headlines, not vetted information.

We have the potential and technology to be the most informed society in the history of the world. I think it’s one of the great ironies of life that being inundated with more information is probably making us less informed.

Soapbox Over, How Do We Start?

Now, when I see something that feels a little off now, I fact check it. Not all posts (that would be a full time job) but normally if I see something that feels off from someone I normally trust.

Most of what I see has the following characteristics outlined below. As a disclaimer, I don’t have big data or an extensive study to back all this up. This is just a set of observations I’ve made over the last few months.

Tip #1: If a post invokes fear, anger or a self-righteous feeling inside, give it a second look

As I’ve noted earlier, content that elicits one of those emotions tend to get more engagement. More engagement actions send signals to the algorithm that this is relevant content and that more people should be exposed to it.

If there’s a post that appears to be explicitly designed to get that type of response, give it a second look. It may have been created that way on purpose.

Identifying that feeling of self-righteousness is a little trickier. If you are sharing something about that person and it has a “I’m glad I’m not like that person” vibe to it, it’s probably not best to share it. Doing so makes us no better than the pharisee in this parable of Jesus.

Tip #2: “Copy and paste this into your status” posts should be given a second look

You’ve seen these posts. It’s the 2020 version of email forwarding chains. I would be willing to guess about 90+% of posts that have a call-to-action for people to copy and paste something into their status are hoax posts.

This is the internet. If someone said something recently, there is likely a hard link to it. If it’s a quote from a famous person, there is likely either a direct social media post from them or, at the very least, a third party news article or video quoting that person. There’s literally no reason why we can’t link to a direct source at this point.

So why go through the trouble of copying and pasting?

It’s a common tactic by scammers. This article from Inc.com walks through some of the strategies. The Cliff Notes version:

• Hoaxers want to avoid re-shares, as re-shares let a hoax get killed much easier than do technically-independent posts

• Copying and pasting makes it harder for Facebook to remove the hoax - especially if personal comments are added

• Re-shares may be hidden by privacy settings, while new posts are likely to be seen by a much broader audience.

• Copy and paste sharing of a hoax post makes detecting the original source of the hoax more complicated

Tip #3: Tread lightly re-sharing posts that contain screenshots

We are in an era where deepfake videos are going to be a real challenge. If Jordan Peele can use AI to make Obama say whatever her wants him too on video, how much easier do you think someone could fake a screenshot?

As noted in Tip #2, there’s literally no reason we shouldn’t link to an actual source at this point. A screenshot without a sourced link means it was probably made up.

When I would lead social media bootcamps, I would create fake tweet screenshots to simulate crisis comms situations. If I could do that with just the tools in Powerpoint, anyone can make it.

A real life example was this faked screenshot indicating that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted the following:

Did she tweet this? [Ron Howard narrator voice] “she didn’t.” Poynter explains it all here if you want to read more details on how the fake tweet spread.

The screenshot made the tweet look legitimate, right? Legitimate enough to where it was shared who knows how many tens of thousands of times before any fact checking would do very much good.

That’s the thing about misinformation. One of the most challenging things about it is the act of undoing it.

Tip #4: Take a few moments and Google something

If you see something that feels off or fits one of the previous three tips, take a few moments to Google something. In the amount of time it takes for you to tie your shoe, you can do a quick internet search to see if something is true or not.

It may feel arduous to take the time to do that with posts you see. I’m not recommending fact checking every post. But it’s worth at least trying to do from time-to-time.

An overall good rule of thumb: if you’re not sure, don’t post it. On social, often times less is more.

Tip #5: Starve the beast

Negative content is wearing us down. It drives misinformation and is proven to take a toll on our mental health and how we engage as a society.

The best way to make big change is by a lot of small changes. We can’t control Facebook. We can’t even control our friends. What we can control is how we engage and respond.

Or don’t respond.

The less you engage, the less signals you send to the algorithm. Depriving negative (or false) social media posts engagement deprives misinformation the oxygen it needs to survive. This article from Wired even goes as far to say to not mock conspiracy theories online. If you don’t want bad information to spread, it’s best not to talk about it at all.

If you feel like you should respond to someone’s false or negative post, the best way to approach it is via private message. It prevents more negativity from spreading and shows more respect to the person you are disagreeing with. Nobody ever changed their mind because they were owned in the comments section. If anything, that person is likely to dig their heels in the sand more.

The Bible even has thoughts on the matter in Matthew 18:15.

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”

Even if you aren’t a Christian, you can’t argue with the wisdom of that.

In Conclusion

Those are just a few ways that I, on a personal level, try to combat misinformation online. Again, I’m not perfect and have made mistakes but I’m actively trying to course correct.

It’s always been important to thoughtfully engage with people online. Given that most of our interactions are online at the moment due to social distancing, it’s even more important that we are diligent in what we share, how we share and how we treat others.

It takes effort to be diligent online. Using up mental effort on an activity we typically do to fill in awkward silent spots in our day almost seems like a waste of time. It’s not. Not being lazy with how we engage the world is always worth the effort.