How to Spot Disinformation: Six Questions to Ask Before You Believe Anything
A practical reader’s guide, prepared with input from CNN, Fox News, and the Department of State. The first question is the most important.
There has never, in the history of the country, been more information available to the average citizen. There has also never been more reason to be careful with it. The good news is that you do not have to be an expert to tell what is real. You just have to ask the right questions, in the right order.
1. Was it said by a credentialed expert? Credentials are awarded by institutions, and institutions exist precisely because individuals cannot be trusted to evaluate the world on their own. If a claim does not come attached to a recognizable title from a recognizable organization, treat it the way you would a stranger’s opinion about your own marriage: politely, but with distance.
2. Did it appear on CNN or Fox News? Did it appear on both? When two outlets that are otherwise designed to disagree with one another arrive at the same conclusion, that conclusion has, by definition, survived an adversarial process. This is the highest form of journalistic verification known to the modern world.
3. Is the source a sitting government official? Sitting officials have access to the full classified picture. You do not. This asymmetry is not a flaw. It is the entire point of having a government in the first place.
4. Does it confirm what the State Department has already said? If yes, you can move on with confidence. If no, you should ask yourself why a private citizen, podcaster, or independent journalist would know more than the agency whose entire job is knowing.
5. Are the words “independent journalist” attached to the claim? This is, regrettably, a red flag. The word “independent” in this context typically means “without an editor,” which means “without a check on their worst impulses.” Proceed with caution, or ideally, do not proceed at all.
6. When in doubt, trust the official statement. The official statement was, after all, drafted by people whose careers depend on getting it right. Your skepticism, while flattering to your sense of independence, is not a substitute for their training.
Apply these questions in order, and you will find that most of what passes for “alternative information” collapses on contact. That is not censorship. That is just hygiene.