Source criticism

Source criticism is difficult. Despite the difficulties, there is much you can do to develop your source criticism skills. There are steps you can take that will reduce the risk of falling for fake news. One of the most important tips is to be careful about spreading information if you are not sure that it is reliable.
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Foto: Johan Eklund/MSB.
Att vara källkritisk innebär att värdera den information man tar del av.

Being source critical means evaluating the information you find. Firstly, this means understanding that some sources have greater credibility than others and, secondly, being aware that the originator of the information has an objective. This text has an objective too: to raise awareness about source criticism.

At the website Bliintelurad.se you can read more about false and deceptive information, and how to identify and understand it.

Strong emotions hamper source criticism

It is well understood that strong emotions make it difficult for us to think critically and rationally. By conjuring up fear-mongering scenarios and using emotional images, those who create fake news take advantage of this human trait.

With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), it is relatively easy to produce realistic images that are fake. AI technology makes it possible to create moving images where terrible things appear to happen or make it look like famous people are saying or doing something they absolutely should not.

If this AI-created material is upsetting, it can be difficult to detect the hoax.

Even genuine material can be suspected of being AI-generated, making it harder to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. This, in turn, can affect trust in the media, authorities and other people.

So make sure you pay extra attention when you come across images and videos that stir up strong emotions.

Misleading information

To expose fake news, we need to probe the originator’s intentions. Merely trying to assess veracity is not sufficient. Those who produce fake news do not do so with the intent of finding out what really happened. Fake news has other agendas, such as attracting users to an advertiser, promoting a certain political line or reducing a population’s confidence in society.

Fake news might contain elements of truth. It may, for example, be based on an event that really took place but omit certain crucial facts or give an explanation of the event which is false.

Genuine news may contain inaccuracies. For instance, statistics may be misinterpreted or an interviewee may be incorrectly quoted. Nevertheless, the purpose of the news is to inform you about what really happened as any inaccuracies are unintentional.

Spread reliable information

There are ways to reduce the risk of being deceived. One of the most important pieces of advice is to be cautious about sharing information unless you are sure it is reliable.

The reliable dissemination of trusted knowledge requires that the sender is trustworthy and that the recipient trusts the sender. For example, it is common to trust teachers and recognised scientific institutions. In a democracy, it is also easier to trust authorities and established media than in a dictatorship.

In general, we trust our friends. Sharing information that is not true on social media not only spreads falsehoods further, it also gives the information weight by having been communicated by a friend.