How to Survive Disinformation
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has further accentuated the problem of disinformation. Navigating this treacherous sea is not only complicated, it is a Herculean task! A constant effort of verification is needed to avoid falling into these "traps" and sharing them, and an unwavering critical spirit. The effort, however, pays off, because in the end the truth prevails.
So that you can do it, I leave you some tips to help you confirm all the information that comes to you. Although the content focuses on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, you can apply it in all situations where there is disinformation.
Tip #1 – Mistrust
The first step is to distrust everything you see and read, even this text. This is essential! Losing critical thinking is the first step to becoming a victim of disinformation and a diffuser of it.
Tip #2 – Know your biases
See that biases you have, so that you will not be influenced by them. Seeing shocking information can mess with us, especially fit our view of the world, and cause us to share it without applying critical thinking to it. If you doubt what you've just read, you might believe an old analyst from CIA, which states precisely this in a for USA Today published in 2020.
As I write in my new book, “True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News,” I was trained to comb through massive amounts of information and root out the fact from the fiction to keep policymakers informed — things like investigating sources of information, checking my own emotions, examining my personal biases and researching information before jumping to conclusions. As I left federal service in mid-2017 to hunt disinformation from the private sector, it occurred to me that this kind of critical thinking was what people needed to employ against their own streams of information.
Tip #3 – Reverse Image
If you see an image being shared ad-nauseum, in a given context, it confirms whether the context in which it is inserted is the real one. Tools such as the or are extremely useful in confirming whether a particular image has previously been used in another context.
An example of this is the image of two children greeting Ukrainian soldiers. This image was widely shared at the beginning of the Russian invasion, however since at least 2016.
Tip #4 – If it seems to be a lie, it is probably
If it seems too good to be true, it's probably not true. An example is the story of the Phantom of Kyiv. There is no confirmation that it really exists and everything seems to indicate, for now, that it is a rumour. It has since become known that one of the widely shared videos about alleged Ukrainian pilot is from the game Digital Combat Simulator World, as reported by the . Wikipedia has one. to this rumor, where you can go to see updates on what is known.
Tip #5 – Read all the information
Read more than them leads of the news. Read only them leads It can be tempting, not least because it does not require effort, but it is not uncommon for them to reveal little information, distort the content that precedes or even influence the way you read the text. O The New Yorker published an on this issue in 2014.
Tip #6 – Confirm
Confirms that the authors of the articles actually exist and that the sites where you read the information are reliable. It may sound silly, but it's easy to create a so-called news site and use it for advertising. Wikipedia has .
Also pay attention to the address, because it may contain a character different from the original address and this is enough to fool the most distracted. If you look at the list mentioned above, some addresses are very similar to legitimate addresses. Always confirm!
Tip #7 – Valida
Validate with fact-checking. O , For example, he does a fantastic job of fact-checking Twitter; a has shared several tips on Twitter on how to fight disinformation.
Don't just use the fact-checking This is because no one is immune to misinformation. Do yours with methods of OSINT to validate the information. OSINT It is an acronym for Open-Source Intelligence It consists, very briefly, of using and analysing publicly available information. Wikipedia has one. of the concept.
Tip #8 – Doubts
Don't take media information as 100% True and confirmed. The media, with the urge to be the first to publish certain information, sometimes forget to confirm it. Going on the news doesn't necessarily make the information true. Always confirm!
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