You might remember how during the pandemic of 2020, 8 Fact-Checking there was this whole thing about 5G causing Covid-19. But fake news has been a problem way before that.
So, the media and governments have been trying all sorts of things to stop fake news from spreading. And there are plenty of tools out there 8 Fact-Checking to help fight it. But you know what? Not everyone’s using them. This article is here to hook you up with the best tools to spot fake news like a pro.
Nowadays, it’s super important to stop misinformation in its tracks.
Just look at what’s been happening lately with the US midterm elections and the Brazilian presidential runoff. A report came out saying social media platforms are struggling big time to keep misinformation at bay.
Sure, some platforms are tweaking their rules to keep folks from getting duped, especially around voting and elections. But hey, we’ve got to do our part too, as marketers and content creators.
How Long Has Fake News Been With Us?
Fake news has been on the internet for a job function email list while. During the US presidential elections of 2016, people started talking about this topic because of the number of false stories that were spreading on social media like Facebook, Twitter (now X), and Instagram.
Top fake election stories in 2016
Top fake election stories in 2016. Source: Statista
But who is generating the fake news? Sometimes people with bad intentions or working for some extreme ideological party, but can also be trolls and bots.
For example, according to CITS, in 2017 there were 23 million bots on X (formerly known as Twitter) (around 8.5% of all accounts), 140 million bots on Facebook (up to 5.5% of accounts), and around 27 million bots on Instagram (8.2% of the accounts).
Why Is It Important to Double-Check What You Share?
The most obvious problem with fake news is that it can confuse people about important issues, such as public health, social problems, and elections. It polarizes even more and creates a feeling of panic that impacts our democracy and the decisions of ordinary people.
Double-checking the information we read is important because it:
Prevents you from spreading hoaxes;
Reduces the discomfort that a conspiracy theory can produce;
Helps you to work on your biases and encourages learning about the two sides of the same story;
For Americans, made-up information is becoming a relevant concern, even bigger than climate change. According to Pew Research Center, 50% of the respondents say that is a huge problem.
How does it affect brands?
So let’s pretend you have a product about some essential oils, and you received a review that says that your product can cure “x” or “y” diseases. You, as the owner of the product, know that is impossible. What would you do? Are you letting that false information spread or clarifying that your oils don’t have that attribute?
Since at Rock Content, we try to make marketing better, we understand how important it is to share information in the most ethical way possible.
Fact-Checking and SEO
Social media sites have gotten a lot of necessary drugs in the first-aid kit flak for failing to detect and stop the spread of fake news. However, that doesn’t mean there are no consequences for spreading misinformation.
For years, Google has been taking action against sites that spread misinformation.
The search engine pushes down sites that spread misinformation, allowing users to report offensive autocomplete suggestions and inaccurate Featured Snippets. It also plans to realize an “About This Result” feature, so users can learn more about a site before clicking.
Sites with accurate or misleading content rank higher than sites with accurate content. Moreover, Google will likely become more adept at catching erroneous content as time passes. Failing to fact-check content can result in a low search engine ranking and loss of trust.
This holds even if you did not intend to spread inaccurate content
Spreading misleading information fax list can also ruin your online reputation. It will drive away potential customers due to a lack of trust. It will make it hard for you to build the brand loyalty you need to keep your business successful long-term.
Fact-checking tools are an effective way to check your content before hitting the “publish” button. Following are some well-known ones you may want to consider.
8 Fact-Checking Tools You Need To Know!
What is the easiest way to research something nowadays? Clearly, just Google it. However, that is not enough. That is why we created a list of tools that can help you uncover false information, half-truths, or biases.