How to spot misinformation
Three kinds of false
False information is not all one thing. It splits three ways.
What splits them is intent. Not the words. The reason behind them.
Sometimes a person shares something false and means no harm.
A friend posts an old flood photo. She thinks it is from today.
She got it wrong. She did not mean to fool anyone.
Other times, a person makes something false on purpose. They want to fool you.
The third kind is the tricky one. The fact is true.
Someone takes a real private fact. They share it to hurt a person.
The fact is real. Sharing it is the weapon.
Three posts go out. Sort each by the reason behind it.
Tap an item, then a bucket
A post is fully true. So it cannot belong in a lesson about false information.Tap to reveal
It can. This is malinformation. The fact checks out, so it passes every fact-check. The harm is not in the words. It is in the choice to share a private fact to hurt someone.