A simple habit for checking claims before believing them
Launch library · evergreen read
A simple habit can catch a large share of the false or exaggerated claims that circulate daily: before accepting or sharing something, pause to ask where it originally came from, whether that source has a track record worth trusting, and whether the claim is being presented with any actual evidence attached.
A claim that cannot be traced back to an identifiable, credible source, or that relies entirely on a screenshot with no link to anything verifiable, deserves particular scepticism, since this pattern is common to a large share of the misinformation that spreads most widely and most quickly online.
None of this requires deep expertise, only a short pause and a basic search before accepting a claim as true, a habit that, practised consistently, does more to protect against misinformation than any amount of general vigilance applied inconsistently and only after the fact. This tends to reward whoever sticks with it longest, rather than whoever starts most enthusiastically.