10 ways to check if the article you’re about to share on FB is true.

Be a thought leader, not a gossip! Learn to check your sources, be honest with yourself and others and lift this world to new intellectual heights!

1. Google the author. Do they have a vested interest in proving their point due to an affiliation with a political party or because if you agree with them, they’ll make more money?
2. Check the source. Local newspapers are considered a reliable source of news. CNN and NYTimes tend to be pretty reliable fall more or less in the middle of the political spectrum. Your local blogger can be a toss-up.
3. Check the facts. Snopes is a great fact checker.
4. Google the topic. What are other people saying about this topic? How do their arguments compare to what your’e reading?
5. Check other sources. What do other publications say about the topic? How well do they make their point? If you want to go deep, focus on history rather than current events. What does history say about this topic? Ask your smartest friend who shares your values, reads a lot of history, science and cares about being fully informed on issues before making a conclusion. An extra good friend of this kind might have a view on one issue that contradicts all other issues. For example, they could be a hard-core conservative who is pro-choice or a liberal who supports gun control. These are extreme examples, but you get the point. That said, be careful about articles claiming a typical liberal person took a conservative view, so it must be true or visa versa! Make no mistake, that is a trick designed to manipulate you and a highly effective one at that!
6. Check the scholarly research. What are teachers, scientists and professors saying about this topic? Make sure to check that the teachers, scientists and professor you rely aren’t part of a think tank funded by liberal or conservative politicians (it happens)
7. Check your emotion (but not your values)…at the doorstep? No matter how much you think your opinion is due to facts, bear in mind that facts can be used to back up almost any emotion in the universe and most people’s decisions are swayed by emotion, not reason.
8. Check your friends…at the doorstep too. In addition to emotions, we tend to make decisions based on what our friend’s think (particularly if they live in the same geographic area.) If all your friends are sharing something, even if your friends are usually right, it’s usually good to give the old article a triple check. Even the best of us can have a hive mind. It’s what builds community and keeps us safe!
9. Keep in mind that many facts do not a reality make. Truth can be subtle. Take strong statements about something being the be all and end all reality, demonizing a particular group or emphatically stating that they are right and others are wrong with a grain of salt.
10. Remember anecdotes do not translate well to general truths. Remember anecdotes and compelling stories are not facts, but illustrations. Just because one dog rescued her puppies from the storm drain in your youtube video does strongly suggest dogs are kind and noble, but we’d need to do a little empirical evidence before we can confidently make a be all and end all conclusion about the nature and actions of all the lovely mama dogs. Stories and anecdotes definitely have a key and important role in shaping our views (partially because no one knows how to read critically these days, but that’s another story), but remember anecdotes are designed to sway your emotions. No anecdote is going to make its way as evidence into a respectable history paper or lab experiment. D- from your science teacher.

Above all, be a seeker of truth and keep and open mind and open heart. Be receptive, not reactive. Speak truth or ask questions when the truth is uncertain but kindly, even when it’s hard and goes against the opinion of those you love. Release the need to be right over the greater good of finding and speaking truth.

Happy critical analysis!