Fake... But How Do You Know?
How do you know if the information you get online can be trusted or not? There is no single, easy answer. Everyone who uses the Internet faces the same dilemma. In 2019, Pew Research Center conducted a poll of 6,127 adults in the US. They found that more Americans view made-up news as a bigger problem than terrorism, illegal immigration, racism, and sexism. Nearly seven-in-ten U.S. adults (68%) said made-up news and information greatly impacted confidence in government institutions, and just over half (54%) said it was having a major impact on our confidence in each other. Verifying on-line information takes work on your part. And the “bad guys” can be very persuasive. The first thing you can do is verify the source. For many organizations and individuals of note you will see a blue symbol with a checkmark next to their name if they have been verified on social media. This means they are who they say they are but it still doesn’t mean that their posts are accurate or unbiased. A