By Kerry Gallagher
You see a post that is surprising and it strikes you that more people should be aware. Before you tap ‘share’ on social media, “stop and think to yourself, ‘Am I reasonably sure this is accurate … does it seem plausible?’” David Rand, a professor of cognitive sciences at MIT, advises all of us to take a second or two to use this thinking routine.
Factcheck.org advises these 3 steps to build into thinking habits when consuming news and information posted online:
- Consider the source
- Evidence or opinion?
- Consult the experts
In an era of AI we need additional thinking habits:
- Is the image AI-generated? – Look for unnatural body parts, odd objects, irregular shadows and reflections, or nonsensical words.
- Is the video or audio AI-generated? – Look for contextual clues, listen for audio anomalies, watch for the quality of the video, and look for disclaimers.
There is much more information about each of these tips available in this 5-minute video and this short article. Practice these thinking routines by looking at examples of false or exaggerated posts in some recent examples of viral claims.