Chapter 56
Vetting our Influencers
Human
survival, health, and democratic stability rely on our ability to vet
information sources. Here are some techniques for filtering truth from lies when you are presented with solicited or unsolicited information.
1. Know your cognitive biases and be careful not to be tricked or deceived by them. Be particularly alert to the confirmation bias. Are you just looking for affirmation of your current beliefs? Do you seek information (from credible sources) that may contradict your own opinions?
2. Assess the consequentiality of the information. If belief in the information could lead to potentially harmful behavior, be extra vigilant in accepting or rejecting its veracity.
3. Check the source’s identity. Is the author credible? Is the institution reputable? Does the source have hidden backers?
4. Analyze bias. Is the goal to inform, persuade, sell, or manipulate? Does the material evoke emotion, and does it seem that this is their intent? Is the language typical of conspiracy promoters? Who benefits from your accepting the offerings as fact?
5. Be aware of transparency and accountability. If this is an established news source (TV, radio, podcast, website), do they admit their mistakes? Are their editorials labeled as such, or do they present their opinions like news? Do they use anonymous sources?
6. Use Fact-Checking Tools and Frameworks. Use resources like FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, or Snopes. Use an AI engine, repeat the fact, and check for confirmation. Don’t repeat information to others until you are confident of its factfulness.
7. Evaluate the information against known facts. Does the information align with long-established yet still current, scientifically tested, widely accepted facts? New understanding can contradict existing knowledge. But it should be well-tested before replacing the old knowledge.
8. Use your critical thinking skills. Does the claim seem too good to be true? Take care to not confuse correlation with cause. Be aware of when only selective information is being broadcast. If a revolution is going on down your street and the news channel is airing a feature on bread baking, you may be watching a station with a vested interest in diverting your attention from unwelcome facts (lies of omission).
Yes, it is true that going through the above Q&A process can take time and can be tedious. You won’t want to do this for every bit of random information that rushes across your screen. But if you look at just a few sources of information to keep you current on important subjects and you attend to them often, the effort will be worth it. I assume we all know people – even good friends and family members – who have their TV, radio, or smartphone feeds on twelve hours a day, broadcasting “news” that you know (or sense) is highly biased one way or another. Many of these media businesses are just that – businesses trying to boost their profits by capturing and holding our attention by appealing to ancient danger-detecting portions of our brain. Feeling righteously indignant for sustained periods of time is a red flag that it’s time to change the channel.
Vetting
information sources is about checking the messenger, the message, and the
motive. In an age of information overload, the above skills are not just
intellectual exercises, they are survival tools.