Did you know it’s an election year? If not, how the heck did you get to this post?
Misinformation is always a problem, but it gets really bad in election years. It’s not new to the internet age, but social media amplifies the problem dramatically.
Below are some ideas I have on how to avoid misinformation. What do you do?
- Memes are not informative. They can be funny and, occasionally, insightful. They are not informative.
- Read, don’t watch. Videos are more manipulative than text.
- Read reports, not opinion. Reports use sources and tell what happen; opinion interprets. The best news sources label opinion as opinion.
- Follow local and national news outlets.
- Follow reporters, not personalities.
- Follow multiple experts in whatever field you want to learn about.
- Follow people who disagree with each other.
- Follow people who use numbers more often than labels.