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DEFINITION OF MISINFORMATION

FAKE NEWS: DEFINITION

Fake News is a term that
defines a variety of false
information. It is often used
to refer to:
n Misinformation: False
information disseminated
without harmful intent
n Disinformation: Created
and shared by people with
harmful intent
n Unscientific claims: Claims
that have no scientific basis
n Hoax and rumours:
Hearsay information that is
not based on facts
n False context: Using a
video or image from one context, and sharing it with a new context
n Imposter content: Using verified handles and profiles to spread disinformation
n Manipulated content: Digitally modifying images or videos to ply a different narrative
n Satire or parody: Intentionally false, designed for entertainment only

MAIN DANGERS OF MISINFORMATION

n Breakdown of trust: Frequent disinformation leads to questioning trusted sources as well
n Confusion: People are unsure on what to believe
n Fear and uncertainty: Baseless information can lead to spread of fear, uncertainty and anxiety
n P
 ublic Health Concerns: Unscientific claims, and hearsay treatments, especially in times
of a pandemic, can become a cause for public health concerns.
n L
 aw and order: Fake news, that is highly emotive, can lead to upsurge in violence and result
in disquiet.

QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE TRUSTING A SOURCE OF INFORMATION:

n Who is behind the information?
n What is the motive?
n What’s the evidence?
n Does it quote authoritative sources?
n What do other sources say?
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TWO WAYS TO VERIFY ANY INFORMATION

Anytime you receive any piece of information, before reacting to it or passing it on, it is best to verify
it. Verification of information takes just a bit of patience and some thinking.

With REAL, you can get a fair understanding whether the post you are looking at is true or fake.
DO THE REAL TEST
n R: Is it real? Does it appear real?
n E: Evidence- What is the source?
n A: Add it all up - Does it add up to the context?
n L: Look around- Are there any other sources that are citing the same information?

Another way of verification is asking the 6 questions that journalists all over the world are taught
to ask of a story or piece of information.

ASK THE JOURNALISTS’ QUESTIONS: 5 W’s AND 1 H:

n Who: Who wrote it? Who published it? Who else has the story?
n What: What is the story? What is the evidence? What is the motive?
n Where: Where else is the information? Where else have I seen the story? Where else does this
photo appear?
n When: When did this happen? When was it written? When was the photo taken? When did I
receive this?
n Why: What have I received? Why has it been written/ circulated?
n How: How does it want me to feel or think? How does the author know?

VERIFYING IMAGES AND VIDEOS

Photos and videos can often be misrepresented and/ or manipulated to convey false narratives
and misleading ideas. But there are ways to understand whether these images and videos are
genuine or not.
FOLLOW THESE STEPS:
Do a text-search, using appropriate keywords, briefly describing what you see in the image/video.
This will get enough clues about the image/video you are verifying.

LOOK FOR FOLLOWING CLUES:

n If the image/video is on social media, scan for comments below, there is a strong chance of one of
the comments calling out the video or image as fake.
n Watch for the date of the post and verify the date and the incident.
n Look for signages, architecture, billboards, and the language they are in. Do they match the
claims being made in the post about the location?
n Listen to the audio carefully. Do the location and the language of the audio differ?
n To break down a video into keyframes, use a Chrome Extension like InVID. Use the keyframes
generated, as images to do Reverse Image Search.

USE REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH:

Use Reverse Image Search with engines like Google Images, Yandex, Tineye, Baidu etc.

REVERSE IMAGE SEARCH HELPS YOU TO ASCERTAIN IF:

n An image was previously present on the internet.
n The image has been manipulated to suit a new story
n An image is being presented with a different context
n An image is genuinely from the source it claims to be.