In today’s culture of smart technology and social media, misinformation is becoming much more frequent and believable, as anyone may pass off information as trustworthy. You would think that with today’s modern technology, it would be simple to utilize tools to differentiate between authentic and false information; unfortunately, it accomplishes the reverse, allowing people to be more clever and make misinformation appear and sound credible. 

However, there are a few tools that can teach us how to identify misinformation among the vast amounts of content that we encounter daily, as well as the motivation behind misinformation. 

First, there is a website called RumorGuard that lays down the process of analyzing misinformation into steps and demonstrates them in action as it examines some of the most recent headlines to decide whether they are true or false. RumorGuard refers to the decoding procedures as “factors,” which include authenticity (does it appear authentic?), source (does it have a respectable source?), evidence (is there evidence to support?), content (is the content accurate?), and reasoning (is it logically based?). Each of the elements listed above includes an explanation of how they may identify whether or not there is misinformation. After reading about the factors, viewers can look through the website’s “recent checks” for some of the most recent misinformation, covering hot issues like the forthcoming solar eclipse and political scandals. While examining the recent checks, the website explains if the information on the issue is fact or fiction, as well as which factors indicate misinformation and why. Overall, RumorGuard is an excellent resource if you are ever concerned about the legitimacy of content and need a guideline to determine if it is accurate or not. It is also useful if you want to understand why many of the most popular headlines include misinformation.

Breaking Harmony Square is another fantastic tool for teaching people how to recognize misinformation and how it is used and spread. Breaking Harmony Square is an interactive game in which you play as an internet “troll” who spreads falsehoods through provoking content to get attention and wreak havoc on the imaginary city of Harmony Square. Throughout the game, you can select the postings and content you believe would generate the most response and cause the greatest chaos in the city, just as a real-life “troll” might. The game teaches you that initiating debates, distributing fake news, exploiting people’s emotions, and buying views and “bot” accounts are all very real ways for people to distribute convincing-looking misinformation while still gaining attention for their content. This game is ideal for those who want to understand what it’s like to be a troll or spreader of misinformation rather than being the recipient of it. It also teaches individuals the strategies used to propagate misinformation, so they know what to watch out for in the future. At the end of the game, you learn how simple it is to not only distribute misinformation but also make it appear credible and cause chaos among an audience. 

Misinformation is difficult to avoid, and it can be difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is false. However, with the correct tools, identifying misinformation can be much easier if you know what to look for.