Check before you share

Så fungerar det

We want to explain a process clearly and persuade the reader that it matters. Start with an example that catches the reader's attention, then explain the steps in a logical order. Signposting words such as first of all, another useful check, finally help the reader follow.

Show how you know: according to, a study by, the BBC reported that. Keep facts and opinions apart. A fact can be checked; an opinion is marked with I think, in my view or it seems.

Before you share a story, check who published it and whether other reliable sources report the same thing.

Why lies travel faster than the truth

In 2018, three researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published one of the largest studies ever made of news on social media. Soroush Vosoughi, Deb Roy and Sinan Aral looked at about 126,000 stories that had been shared on Twitter between 2006 and 2017. Each story had been checked by independent fact-checking organisations and labelled as true or false. The results were striking. False stories reached more people than true ones, and they spread faster. On average, a true story took about six times as long as a false one to reach 1,500 people. The difference was greatest for political news. Why does this happen? Many people assume that automated accounts, so-called bots, are responsible. However, the researchers found that bots spread true and false stories at roughly the same rate. The main difference came from ordinary human users. People were simply more likely to share the false stories. The researchers suggest that novelty plays a big part. False stories tend to be more surprising than true ones, and surprising information feels valuable to share. False stories also caused stronger emotions in the replies, such as surprise and disgust, while true stories more often caused sadness or trust. What can we learn from this? Firstly, if a story seems incredible, that is a reason to be careful, not a reason to share it immediately. Secondly, it helps to pause and check: who published it, when, and do other reliable sources report the same thing? Finally, it is worth remembering that each of us is part of the system. Every time we decide not to share something we haven't checked, the false story travels a little more slowly.

Källor

1. Kursplan i engelska, Lgr22, Skolverket