Viewing
Not sure what to believe anymore? Trust me, I get it – there are so many false news sites and memes on the internet these days.
Thanks to Covid-19 we have all been bombarded with so many articles, videos, doctored-images and mis-quotes since early 2020.
Social media is awash with them, so-much-so that I often get messages from friends and acquaintances showing me what they now vehemently believe because they saw it on the internet. #facepalm
Consequently I often find myself saying this to many people:
If you wholeheartedly believe something to be true, post it on YOUR Facebook / Twitter page. Let all your friends and family know about it. Why DM just me that you are an anti-vaxxer and you have video proof?
Proving
For MANY years I have been using these first three sites to FACT-CHECK information provided on the internet. Because why would anyone believe the first bit of news they read?
- Snopes.com
/ Snopes got its start in 1994, investigating urban legends, hoaxes, and folklore. Founder David Mikkelson was publishing online before most people were connected to the internet. Now it’s the oldest and largest fact-checking site online, widely regarded by journalists, folklorists, and readers as an invaluable research companion. - AAP.com.au
/ AAP is a not-for-profit company and does not have owners. It is motivated by public interest, ensuring the news service is not influenced by third parties. - toolbox.google.com
/ A fast way to search and fact-check results from the web about a topic or person
But sometimes that is not quite enough. It makes sense to check information, and not always from the same source – and to really READ the information. Not taking everything for granted is doubly important. So now I also check these additional SEVEN sites to follow up or get a different source of clarification.
- APNEWS.com
/ Fact-checking, accountability journalism and misinformation coverage from AP journalists around the globe. - factCHECK.org
/ … closely monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by the president and top administration officials, as well as congressional and party leaders … to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics, so we focus on claims that are false or misleading. DETAILS - factCHECK
/ … grown to become the leading global fact-checking organisation, with dedicated journalists … (taking) into account local cultures, languages and politics … worldwide to investigate and disprove false information, focusing on items which can be harmful, impactful and manipulative. - BBC.com/reality_CHECK
/ … making even greater efforts to explain what type of information you are reading or watching on our website, who and where the information is coming from, and how a story was crafted the way it was. By doing so, we can help you judge for yourself why BBC News can be trusted. DETAILS - politiFACT.com
/ Focused on looking at specific statements made by politicians and rating them for accuracy. Corrections & Updates - theCONVERSATION.com
/ Founded in Melbourne in 2011, ‘The Conversation Australia and New Zealand’ is a unique collaboration between academics and journalists that in just 10 years has become the world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis. - ABC.net.au
/ MY FAVOURITE QUOTE: In our impossibly polarised world, facts are now submerged in the mud of fake news, self-serving spin, misinformation and good old-fashioned fearmongering. Fact Check is an agenda-free zone; it fearlessly follows the facts no matter where they lead. We do not speculate on the motives of those of who may get it wrong and we are not about “gotcha” moments. DETAILS
Understanding
Because I check – I know better. But I always go back to see if information has been adjusted, updated, or re-clarified as being correct or not!
Why write this article? Because within moments of admitting I had had my first ‘jab’, I got 3 DM’s on Facebook from friends giving me videos and opinions about Covid-19. I responded to one, and eventually destroyed his views with real evidence. I firmly believe the websites listed above should read by all the conspiracy theorists nut bags ASAP!
Extra: If you still wholeheartedly believe a thing you were told by your osteopath’s pool-boy’s auntie’s physic, I am not going to argue with you. I got a life to live.
Stephentrepreneur.com 
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