Identifying Misinformation Online

In the last two decades we have seen a lot of change regarding news and information - who makes it,
who shares it, and how people use it. Traditionally, a lot of news and information was created and
distributed by large media companies. There was more trust because many people considered that
information to be fairly true and accurate, in other words, they thought it was reliable. With the
development of the internet and new technologies, all of that has changed. Anyone can create and
share videos, articles and posts, and call it news or information. A lot of this information spread on social
media is biased, incorrect, or fake. Some of this media is made to inform or entertain people but
unfortunately, some is made to confuse and to hurt people.

M I S IN F OR M A T I O N ON S OC I A L ME D IA

In this section we talk about the reliability of social media. When we talk about the media, reliability
means how much we can trust something to be true. If a source of information is reliable, we can trust
it.

One of the special things about social media is that it allows information to spread very quickly. Posts
can be published instantly, and they can be shared with an entire social network with just a few clicks.
Remember, a social network is the group of friends, family, and people you know that you interact with
online. Think about YouTube videos that get millions of views in just a few days. Many of those views
come from social media users who share the video with their social network very soon after they see the
video. Information that spreads very quickly through social media is called viral. For instance, a viral
video or a viral story.

Social media apps and websites are designed to make it very easy for users to create and share new
information. This is how information spreads so quickly on social media. If you see an interesting post,
it's only natural to share it with your social network as soon as possible. But what if you have some
questions about the information in a social media post?

These days many people don’t have the patience to delay sharing information in order to ask questions
about the source of the information. Often the information is reliable, or trustworthy, but if it isn't
reliable and people act on that information there can be serious problems.

© 2021 by George Mason University. Identifying Misinformation Online for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government 1
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and administered by FHI 360. This work is an adaptation of EML MOOC Module Two Packet by FHI 360 1
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. To view a copy of the license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Adapted content is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
 “Untitled image” by Tumisu via Pixabay is licensed under the Pixabay license.

For example, in 2020 the coronavirus spread around the world causing a global pandemic. People were
afraid of getting sick so they looked for helpful information in the media. Unfortunately, there was a lot
of dangerous misinformation being shared on the internet and some of the incorrect information even
made it into traditional news outlets. The amount of bad information being spread was so great that it
was even called an infodemic.

Many people were sharing messages that said the coronavirus was a hoax (something that’s not real) so
some people didn’t take precautions and got sick. Other messages talked about false and dangerous
coronavirus treatments. Some people got very sick and even died after trying some of the so-called
cures.

Traditional media is generally more reliable because reporters can make sure that information is true
before they share it; however, millions of people around the world get their news from social media.
Because the number of people getting their news from social media is increasing, we know this issue is
important. The growing amount of misinformation available is a problem that media literacy educators
can help address.

“Infodemic Articles” by HAndrews is licensed under CC BY 4.0

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T Y P E S O F M IS IN F OR MA T I O N

You may have heard this term in recent years - fake news. The word fake means something that is
counterfeit or not real. According to this definition, a fake news story would be totally made up with
information that’s not true at all. The term fake news is a problem because different people use it to
refer to different things. These days many politicians see stories or information they don’t like and say
it’s “fake news.” In reality, those stories are often just critical of the politicians, or biased against them,
or they include information the politicians don’t want people to know.

It’s getting more difficult to tell if something you see online is real or fake, true or false. The bad news is
that many of us get tricked into believing something is real even when it’s not. The good news is there’s
a lot of this kind of material, in English, that you could analyze in your media literacy lessons. As
educators you should know about the various types of misleading or completely false media messages
that can be found online. Let’s look at some of them now.

There are several types of information that can be confusing, misleading or completely false:

● bias: a belief that favors a particular person or idea over others, instead of being neutral
○ I don’t like that news channel. It’s biased against the President.

● propaganda: information used by governments to influence people’s beliefs and actions

● satire: using humor to criticize or make fun of real events or people; content is meant to be
funny and not seem completely real
○ In many countries you can find satire videos that make fun of politicians. Some of them
are really hilarious.

● hoax: something false that is meant to trick people into believing it is real; often as a joke
○ Did you see the video about the golden eagle grabbing the child? It was a hoax but it
looked so real!

● pseudoscience: misrepresents scientific information with false claims

● conspiracy theory: explains that events or situations are actually secretly controlled by powerful
groups such as the government or others; rejects scientific explanations and authority figures
who contradict their beliefs
○ My brother is obsessed with conspiracy theories. He says up all night watching videos
about them online. I’m worried about him.

● misinformation: completely false or partially false information; is often sent or shared in order
to deceive people; is not always intentionally false
○ Throughout history there have always been people willing to spread misinformation.
Unfortunately, the internet makes it much easier to do. In fact, sometimes I even spread

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 misinformation by accident when I don’t check to see if something is real before I share
it.

● fake: stories, photos, videos that are designed to look real

● deepfake: videos of people that are very realistic; a type of visual hoax meant to trick people;
deepfake videos of government leaders can be used to spread dangerous misinformation
○ Did you see the deepfake videos of Tom Cruise? I really thought it was him! Those
deepfake videos are getting so good. I’m worried how people will use them.

● clickbait: eye-catching or misleading headlines meant to get people to click on links

This is just a brief overview of some of the types of misleading or false information found on the
internet. We encourage you to do more research on these issues online where you will be able to find
examples of these types of media.

“Untitled image” by Tumisu via Pixabay is licensed under the Pixabay license.

U S E ME D IA L IT E R A C Y S K IL L S A N D R E S OU R C E S T O C H E C K
T H E R E L IA B IL IT Y O F IN F OR MA T IO N

Now that we have reviewed several factors related to information reliability, we have to figure out what
to do about it. As you know, there are sets of questions that you can use to help guide your students in
analyzing media messages. When looking at information and news media there are certain questions
that are particularly helpful. Let’s first take a look at a framework for analyzing media messages from the
Center for Media Literacy - the 5 Key Questions for media consumption.

When you do a media analysis lesson, one option you have is to use a framework like this one and
choose the questions that are most useful. In the case of information and news media, you might start
with questions #1 and #5.

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 1. Who created this message?
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
3. How might people understand this message differently?
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?
5. Why is this message being sent?

Who created this message? (Or, where does the information come from?)

Let’s imagine your class is analyzing an online news story. The first questions for your students are: Who
created this message? or Where does this information come from? Have your students look at the
company logo and the web address. Is it from a new source that is well-known and has a good
reputation? These types of news sources will usually list the names of the authors or interviewers.

Is the story from a source you’ve never heard of? If so, your students can do a little research on that
online source.

Why is this message being sent? (Or, what do these people want me to think or
do?)

Once you know a little about who created the message then you can start to investigate why the
message was created. The question: Why is this message being sent? gets students thinking about
purpose.

Most news sources, like newspapers, television channels and news websites, want readers and viewers
to keep getting their news because they make money from advertisers. Each time you buy a newspaper,
watch a program on TV, view a video online, or click on an article, it makes money for the person or
organization that provided the news.

While a lot of news and information messages are created so people can make money off advertising,
other messages are made and distributed for different reasons. Some media and content creators really
just want to help people. For example, they might give health or financial tips. They might also make
money while helping people if their website or blog has internet ads. Other content creators want to
influence public opinion. These information providers might make content about politics, health, or
social issues. They might want people to support a certain politician or issue. Finally, some people who
create news and information media do it because they want to trick or harm people. They may write
about fake coronavirus cures because they think it is funny. Or their main intent may be to make money
off internet ads and they don’t care if it hurts people. There are also content creators who work for
hostile governments that may want to cause problems in your country.

What is the evidence?

Whatever the reason is for making and sending the message, it may not help you find out if the
information is reliable. Is the news story true and unbiased? Is it completely made up, or fake? Perhaps
someone intended for a message to be true but it’s missing an important part or it contains inaccurate
or wrong information.

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Questions that are especially important to ask when analyzing news and information are: What is the
evidence? or How do they know that? These are important questions for students to know because they
are useful in many different subjects in school. They require people to provide evidence to support any
claims about information.

To find reliable evidence about information, your students can look for research by universities or
scientific organizations. Other credible sources might include the websites of governments or
international organizations. Another way to check the reliability of information and news is to use online
fact checkers. There are several well-known English language fact checkers that verify the reliability of
information. These include Snopes.com, PolitiFact.com, FactCheck.org, and others. Some major
newspapers in the United States provide fact-checking as well.

Finding evidence for news and information can be challenging but it’s necessary. Your students should
remember this rule: if you see a questionable, unbelievable or shocking post on social media, then you
should look for strong evidence.

C ON C LU S I O N

Checking the reliability of online news and information may seem like an overwhelming task but don’t
worry. We are all learning how to manage the large amount of information (and misinformation) that
we see every day.

As an educator, knowing what’s out there is just a starting point. You, along with your colleagues, can
work together to create lessons and resources on misinformation that are both fun and effective.
Remember, there are a lot of great media literacy resources online and there are a lot of good examples
of misinformation in English. Studying this topic will be an interesting challenge for your students.

Reference

Jolls, T. (Ed.). (2008). Literature for the 21st century: An overview & orientation guide to media literacy
education (2nd edition). Center for Media Literacy.
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