When you hear a dramatic story about members of a minority group committing immoral acts, consider these questions, that could reveal signs of disinformation:
Is the story true ?
- Is the story sensational ? This could make you want to re-tell it.
- Does the story warn of the presence of extreme danger ?
- Does the story tell about dangerous moral misconduct by a member of a minority ?
- Sensational claims of imminent threat can spread fear and fuel hostility against marginalized groups (e.g., immigrants, minorities).
- High-impact stories should prompt fact-checking before sharing.
- Are the sources transparent and falsifiable?
- Are the sources traceable ?
- Reliable sources include:
- Most edited news media. Some news media have a political or commercial angle you should be aware of, but they are still better than social media postings.
- Peer-reviewed research
- Publicly available records
- Shady sources: Be cautious if sources are vague, obscure, or unfalsifiable.
- Can you access the original Sources easily ?
- If the story relies on distant, unfamiliar, or hard-to-reach sources (e.g., “a village in another country,” “an unnamed insider”) or a marginallised group that you do not know, verification becomes difficult.
- Lack of direct access increases the risk of misinformation.
- Is the source trustworthy or just hearsay?
- Be skeptical if the story comes from:
- Actors who have their own agendas, like politicians as a part of a political campaign.
- “A friend of a friend”
- If a story you hear from a friend comes from influencers.
- Unverified rumours
- Anonymous officials, like an unnamed police officer
- Influencers. 2/3 of influencers do not fact check before they share stories.
- Social media posts
- Traceable, accountable sources are essential.
- Is the story in a form that allows it to be easily falsified or fact-checked? Are the claims presented in a precise form that makes it easy to check if they are false ?
- Does the story suggest a secret elite conspiracy hiding the truth? In that case, you should be aware that it could be a conspiracy theory.
- Conspiracy theories have no sources, since the alleged elite is claimed to be secret. Be sceptical if a story of a conspiracy have no real sources.
- Because there are no real sources that could be falsified, conspiracy theories can not be falsified.
- Also, any attempt of reality check can be rejected as a part of the alleged conspiracy.
- Conspiracy theories are therefore closed belief systems.
- Conspiracy theories are used as ideology by the hardcore extreme right and terrorist organisations. They serve this purpose well because you have to choose if you believe in them or not. At the same time they warn of a secret elite conspiring to commit dangerous acts, which fuels resentment and mobilisation.
Does the story tell the truth ?
When politicians highlight cases of misconduct within minority groups, even factually accurate stories can distort reality if they are systematically cherry-picked to fuel prejudice. Ask yourself about the angle of the presentation:
- Is this story being used by somebody who has a political agenda, or as part of a political campaign ?
- Critical thinking means separating facts from agendas. Always check the broader context before accepting a narrative.
- Is a politician, party, an activist group or influencers aggressively promoting it to attack rivals or sway voters?
- Does its timing align with an election or controversial policy debate?
- Does a politician claim that members of an immigrant group in general are drug dealers or violent criminals ? Is a political campaign promoting stereotypes, the false assumption that all members of a group or category share the same social behaviour ?
- Is It part of a campaign of systematically cherry picking stories of immigrant crime ?
- Are only negative stories about immigrants/minorities being amplified, while similar acts by others are ignored?
- Does the coverage overrepresent rare events as common trends?
- Is it statistically representative or statistically misleading?
- Even if true, does the story imply that the behaviour is widespread when data shows it is an outlier?
- Are broader societal factors (e.g., poverty, discrimination) being erased to blame an entire group?
- What about the stories of all the refugees and immigrants who go to work every morning, to do the hardest jobs for the lowest pay ?
- Is the full perspective told ? If someone complains about refugees or immigrants in general, a good response could be to ask if they know their concrete backgrounds. For instance, are they fleeing war or persecution?
Does this story reveal a real pattern—or is it being used to manipulate perceptions?
Do you stand up and ask critical questions when you hear negative stories about refugees and immigrants in a social setting or online ? Right wing activists are often very active in spreading bigotry or other right wing politics in social settings. Do not become a part of an echo chamber. Say when you disagree.
Spreading gossip might seem harmless as you can spread gossip without risk, and you never get to see the effect on the victims. But spreading gossip is not a victimless activity. Gossip can ruin other peoples lives. React when somebody spread stories about an individual or a group of individuals.
Your share button is a bioweapon. Do not fire blindly. Think before you share. Stop the outbreak.