Debunking Internet Rumors and Political Lies
How to Debunk Internet Myths & Fact Check Political Disinformation
Oct 13, 2009
The media and the Internet can overwhelm one with information. Some of the information includes Internet hoaxes, and some of the media information includes political disinformation as well. Learning how to debunk Internet myths and how to fact check for political bias is essential in dealing with the Internet and media blitz.
About Internet Hoaxes
People are barraged everyday with Internet rumors and hoaxes. What used to be called urban legends, second-hand stories passed on orally about mishaps that could have happened but cannot be verified, are now being spread through email and over the Internet. This new style of myth-spreading can be appropriately referred to as Netlore. The Internet is a perfect platform for perpetrating hoaxes and spreading Netlore and myths.
Email hoaxes especially spread false information by encouraging recipients to forward false information, via chain letter style, to others. One can spot email hoaxes by looking for certain telling signs, such as a phrases reading, “Forward this to everyone you know.” or “This is not a hoax.” One should be on the alert for use of exaggerated language, exclamation points, and capital letters. One should check for references and for debunking of the email.
Web hoaxes consist of phony websites meant to trick users into believing they are reading factual information from legitimate web sources. There are many investigative tools for debunking email and Internet hoaxes. A good source is About.com: Hoaxes and Folklore. Snopes is a commonly used one as well. One can use the sources to investigate any particular scam or hoax that there is reason to question.
About Political Disinformation and Lies
Television and radio news reports that range from crucial issues to peculiar misinformation motivated by self-serving political agendas bombard viewers and listeners on a daily basis. Considering the “Birthers”, the “Tea Party Demonstrators” and a whole host of other politicians and citizens with their own political agendas, it is the responsibility of American citizens to determine truth from fiction before jumping on any political bandwagon.
Through media, one absorbs so much political disinformation that it’s increasingly difficult to evaluate everything heard. The human mind isn’t designed to easily reject false information. When a falsehood is repeated often enough, it almost becomes a form of brainwashing. Even when one discovers false information, that falsehood doesn’t automatically get removed from memory. It tends to stick there, despite facts to the contrary. As a consequence, one must check sources for legitimacy and fact.
A list of reliable fact checking tools for discerning political truth from lies can be found on The Government Domain:Political Fact Checking Websites. One can use the fact checking sources when unsure as to which politician or pundit to believe.
Points to Remember
As Samuel Johnson, 18th century British author, said, “We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us.” One should not be deceived. It is easy to be taken in by Internet hoaxes and political disinformation. One should endeavor to stay informed and check the facts before taking the bait.
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