Lesson 131 · 2 min
Three steps before sharing hot news
When a post makes you angry or scared and you want to forward it now, take three small steps first: pause, find the source, look for a second report.
False news spreads faster than corrections because it is built to trigger strong feelings. AI makes it cheaper to produce, with fake screenshots, fake voices and fake official letters.
Step one is a pause. Notice the feeling and wait a minute before you press share. Most harm comes from quick forwards in family and work groups.
Step two: find who said it first. A real announcement comes from a named agency, a company's official page or a known news outlet. "A friend of a friend in the police" is a rumour.
Step three: look for a second independent report. If big news is true, several trusted outlets will carry it within hours. If only screenshots exist, wait.
Do it now
Use the three steps today
- 1. Pick the next alarming post in a group chat.
- 2. Wait one minute, then search for the original source.
- 3. Search the main claim on two trusted news sites before deciding to share.
Quick check
Keep going
Next →AI and biasWords from this lesson
- AI literacy
- Knowing enough about how AI works to use it well, spot its mistakes and decide when not to use it.
- Deepfake
- A fake video, photo or audio clip made with AI to show a real person saying or doing something they never did.
- Generative AI
- AI that produces new text, images, audio, video or code, rather than only sorting or scoring existing things.