The Lost Art of Verification – W4

I found myself scrolling through X (formerly Twitter) last night and noticed something about myself. As my eyes roved over the endless scroll of posts, I noticed how much information I was digesting without question. Of course, there were the obvious tweets that stood out as engagement bait and blatant misinformation. I’d scoff at them and move along to the next post. But every so often I’d find myself engaged with a post that alerted me to some shocking or interesting fact. It would slip through my mind’s fact-checking filter.

Some sources seemed true. Some seemed believable.

And what did I do with that information?

I absorbed it. Without question. By sheer happenstance that piece of information was now embedded in my mind. Catalogued for future conversations.

I never really thought of how this information impacted me, my senses, or sensibilities. With the rapid onslaught of information that we digest on a daily basis, it is near impossible to have an impenetrable misinformation barrier.

Now that raises the question: How do we prevent these everyday cracks in our barriers?

Well…you don’t. At least, not all at once. There is no foolproof way to create said “impenetrable misinformation barrier.” Especially with the advent of generative AI.

But! I’d argue that you can train it. Maybe not to an impenetrable degree, but enough to give you more confidence in the information you absorb.

Now, I’m no expert on the subject of misinformation, far from it actually, but I think it’s a topic worth reflecting and building on. The more we talk about it, the more we can bolster our defenses against it.

Here’s a simple scenario:

Picture it. It late at night. Your eyes are fighting sleep as the seconds tick on. You’re doing your daily doomscrolling on X. Your nightly ritual.

Then, you stumble upon a post.

Some exciting information from an everyday user on X. For contest, the tweet is referring to the actor Caleb McGlaughlin (Lucas from Stranger Things) allegedly being cast as Miles Morales (aka Spiderman) in some live action Spiderman movie.

This is something easy to debunk or verify. With the help of Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg’s Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online, we can use the SIFT method.

First, stop. Ask yourself what you really know about movies and cast announcements. Think about who this “gigi ୨୧” user is. Do you know this user as a reliable source?

Then, investigate the source. Now if you’re a casual comic book movie fan, this news might excite you. This implies that a new Spiderverse movie is in the works. But where do you usually see this information first? From random X users or news sources? Does this user stand out to you as a journalist? You go to their bio…but nothing stands out as reliable or journalistic.

Let’s try finding other sources. A big casting announcement like this one is bound to have widespread coverage.

Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What about the ‘T?’ We’ll need to trace the claim to the original context. For a more specific claim or news story, this step would no doubt be simpler. But this rumor originated from a “fancast,” a phenomenon where people share their favorite casting choices for an upcoming or fictional movie.

Your conclusion? This claim is false.

At first glance, this may seem like a lot but think of it as exercise. You’re training your brain to be ever vigilant. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s enough for now. The key is to not let these cracks in your misinformation barrier turn into a breach.

-Annika Raines