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In the lead-up to the recent U.S. presidential election, there was significant concern that fake news might be used to sway the outcome. In fact, some election observers were already calling social media one of the biggest threats to election security, and that was precisely because fake news is able to thrive on social media.
Unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder to spot fake news. And that’s because the creators of this fake news know exactly how to game the system. They understand how the algorithms work, and they understand what makes people click on certain types of content. And, increasingly, they are becoming increasingly proficient with AI-powered tools, in order to pump out as much of this content as possible.
So, with that in mind, here’s a closer look at several tips for spotting fake news on social media.
Tip 1: Be wary of clickbait headlines
Since the goal of any scammer is to get you to click on certain content, it makes sense that they are using clickbait headlines to get those clicks. It boosts the probability that you’ll read their content. So be skeptical of any headline that seems too outrageous to be true. You’d be surprised at how deceptive many headlines are, and how they feed on our worst instincts.
Tip 2: Be able to spot the key attributes of bot accounts
Often, it’s not humans creating the fake content out there, it’s bots. So you need to learn how to spot these bot accounts. Most of them are anonymous in nature, meaning you have no idea who’s behind the account. Many don’t even have profile photos. And most bots are very prodigious content creators, pumping out content much faster than any human possibly could. So be wary of any social media account that seems to be working around the clock 24/7.
Tip 3: Be careful before clicking on links you don’t recognize
Before you click on a link, be sure you know where it will take you. Often, malicious accounts try to create links that resemble links from reputable sources. So feel free to do a double-take if a domain name doesn’t seem to be quite right, or if the typical .com extension is replaced by one that you don’t immediately recognize. The goal of much content out there is to hijack the user and take them to a place where they don’t want to be.
A common sense approach to social media
If there’s one big takeaway lesson, it’s this: use a bit of common sense before you believe anything you read on the web. And do the heavy-lifting of actually reading an article before sharing it online. It’s being lazy (and potentially irresponsible) if you only read a headline, and then decide to share the content because it seems to capture an idea you want to spread. As noted above, often there is a real disconnect between the headline and the content.
This is not to say, however, that you shouldn’t rely on non-traditional sources of content for your news. There are some remarkably informed and intelligent people out there. And there are definitely some people you can trust, even if they don’t have a blue checkmark next to their name.
But certainly keep your eyes out for the bad actors, and especially the bots. If we want social media to be trustworthy, then we all need to do our share to protect it from all the bad actors out there.
