A guide to detecting false information online

The Internet is a repository of knowledge, where experts of all kinds can deposit their knowledge to be shared by all and debated by others. What's more, it's a democratic platform where anyone can post whatever they like. A freedom that can become a huge flaw, as this freedom in no way guarantees the quality and value of the information.

For many Internet users, everything on the Web must be true. A misperception that leads us to believe lies. In this age of images and videos that can easily be doctored, it's even easier to fall into the trap. That's why it's essential to learn, whatever your age, to be wary of what you find on the Internet.

Resources for detecting falsehoods

Howard Rheingold wrote a book in 2012 on discerning the good from the bad online. Since then he's offered a syllabus of courses on social networking and, most importantly, a recent reference guide for verifying information. Because there are a multitude of sites and tools for browsers to find out whether a news item or page is factual or nonsense. The guide, compiled by Rheingold and 13 other contributors, lists over a hundred resources. The catalog is divided into different categories.

• The first is linked to the identity of a site, to find out who owns the domain, or to check whether a personality is dead or not.
  
• The second is politics, to show the ideological bias of sites and fact-checkers linked to public bodies or personalities.
  
• Thirdly, the authors suggest a few verification sites related to advertising or business.
  
• The fourth deals with the medical field and reliable sites for maintaining links between patients and healthcare professionals.
  
• The fifth category deals with a major source of misinformation: images. It covers Tin Eye, but also other extensions and applications for detecting photo modifications.
  
• Email hoaxes, quote origins and urban legends are covered in the sixth category.
  
• The next busiest section is Journalism, which offers resources for analyzing the source of the news and trying to counter the phenomenon of fake news. There's even a link to a site that shows text modifications in various online news media.
  
• The eighth category covers sites that use collective intelligence to note errors in articles published in the media.
  
• The ninth is aimed at the academic world, and offers resources for analyzing research sources, scientific articles and researcher citations.
  
• Finally, the last two divisions deal with the analysis of social networks and what is published, and other references, articles and courses on the notion of veracity online.
  

This guide, produced by strategic intelligence consultant and trainer Christophe Deschamps, is accompanied by his suggestions, which are publicly available on Diigo.

It's easy to be discouraged by the sheer volume of false information swarming, multiplying and being shared on the Internet. Some people give up, but guides like these can provide the tools and food for thought to spot falsehoods and teach others to do the same.

Illustration: theglobalpanorama Google Logo Search via photopin (license)

References

Deschamps, Christophe. "Un Guide Pour Vous Aider à Vérifier Les Informations En Ligne." Cold Tools. Last updated November 7, 2016. http://www.outilsfroids.net/2016/11/un-guide-pour-aider-a-la-verification-des-informations-en-ligne/.

Rheingold, Howard. "Crap Detection Resources." Google Docs. Accessed January 5, 2017. https://docs.google.com/document/d/163G79vq-mFWjIqMb9AzYGbr5Y8YMGcpbSzJRutO8tpw/edit.