As corona virus sweeps the globe, it brings the spread of misinformation and fake news along with it. As early as February, before the virus was officially termed a pandemic, a post began circulating the internet claiming, among other unfounded information, that having a “runny nose” meant you don’t have corona virus and drinking hot water and avoiding ice might prevent or cure the illness.
This post, which likely originated in a Facebook group called “Happy People,” was widely shared, despite its false claims. Of course, fake news is nothing new. While the phrase may have been coined in the past few years, people have been sharing false and misleading information and propaganda since the dawn of time.
Technology is a double-edged sword in the world of fake news. On the one hand, platforms like Facebook and other social media platforms have made it a lot easier to share and spread inaccurate information. However, digital tools from software development companies like BairesDev and other services make verifying or debunking them a lot less difficult, too.
Photo Verification
It’s pretty easy to manipulate visuals, especially now that we have tools like Adobe Photoshop at our disposal. Just take this “photo” of President Barack Obama purportedly shaking hands with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. In fact, this meeting never occurred — the image is a doctored version of a photo of Obama shaking hand with Manmohan Singh, who was India’s prime minister in 2011 when the real picture was taken.
There are plenty of tools that expose images as edited or fabricated. The most common is a Google Images reverse-image search. You can drag an image into the search bar to find other versions that exist, such as ones that are “visually similar.” Another tool is FotoForensics which collects user-submitted images and information about them, such as the date of submission and how frequently the picture is accessed, for research verification purposes.
Jigsaw, previously called Google Ideas, is testing a photo-verification tool called Assembler. Assembler detects photo manipulation, such as if multiple photos have been merged into one. The tool is meant for journalists and will not be available to the general public.
Fact-Checking
Drew Cloud, a student loan expert, was quoted in such news outlets as The Washington Post and CNBC. The founder of the website The Student Loan Report was widely known for his expertise and guidance. The only problem? He’s fake. In 2018, The Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that he was actually an invention of The Student Loan Report, LLC, a for-profit company.
This type of fabrication is ubiquitous, which is why fact-checking is essential. It’s important to identify the source of the story and whether it’s grounded in credible information. Fortunately, there are many resources for verifying claims.
Snopes, which began as a site for debunking online rumors and scams, has expanded into a well-regarded face-checking tool. Poynter, which aims to be “an instructor, innovator, convener and resource for anyone who aspires to engage and inform citizens,” acts as a similar resource for journalists. There are also niche sites, like Factcheck.org, which fact-checks claims made by politicians.
Data Visualization Verification
Not all fake news is actually fake — it could just be misleading. Visual data manipulation is one tactic used to deceive people. There are many different ways of doing this. For instance, omitting the baseline on a graph could lead viewers to misinterpret information.
This well-known example from Fox Business exaggerates the effects of the expiration of the tax cuts from President George W. Bush’s administration. The two bars in the third graphic represent tax rates of 35% and 39.6% respectively, but because the Y-axis starts at 34%, the contrast appears drastic.
Unfortunately, there’s no simple tool for verifying data visualization. However, having a keen eye for manipulation tactics will help you avoid falling for them.
For example, in graphical depictions, pay attention to the labels on the X- and Y-axes. You should also look at the methodology the source is using to gather and present the data — if it’s not identified or described at all, then that’s a red flag. In some cases, you can fact-check this type of information on tools like Snopes, too.
At the end of the day, digital literacy requires some common sense in addition to using tools to verify the accuracy of claims. Pay attention to factors like the reputability of the source, whether the information is consistent with other facts you know to be true, and the origins of the claim — including if they’re even traceable — to start.
Remember that you play a role in perpetuating fake news or not, too, so do your part to help combat it by ensuring that you’re handling potentially untrue information responsibly and not sharing sensitive information you haven’t verified.
