Misinformation is everywhere during war — here’s how to stop it

(NewsNation) — The conflict between Israel and Gaza has been difficult for many average news viewers to follow because of the constant flows of information — some reliable, and some not — that are broadcast everywhere from our television screens to our smartphones.

These moments are particularly ripe for the spread of misinformation due to the nature of international conflicts. New events are constantly unfolding, and all sides try to spin the facts in their favor.

It can sometimes take days or weeks to figure out what’s actually true. For example, after a missile strike in early September near a market in eastern Ukraine that injured dozens of people and killed at least 15 civilians, the Ukrainian government initially blamed Russia for the strike. But an investigation by The New York Times later reported it was a misfire by Ukrainian forces.

So how can we, as news readers, guard against believing or spreading unreliable information?

NewsNation spoke to two specialists on the topic — Hannah Covington, the director of education design at the News Literacy Project, and Colleen Sinclair, a Louisiana State University-based researcher who studies misinformation in the context of violence — who offered practical advice.

Be careful what you share

In the era of smartphones, much of what we consume is not from a newspaper or television screen but from viral content that pops up on our social media apps.

“The first thing we tell people is just number one, remember that misinformation does thrive during breaking news events, including wars, and we absolutely have to be cautious about what we share. Just because something has [a] huge amount of views or likes does not mean it’s credible,” Covington said.

Sinclair said that some of the content being shared on the internet may even be the work of foreign actors trying to sow division.

“They take advantage of moments of unrest in order to further spread chaos and destabilize governments and foment distrust in sources of valid information,” she said.

Covington noted that Americans can help disrupt this cycle of misinformation and disinformation by simply slowing down on what they share.

“We should really avoid liking and sharing something that hasn’t been verified or vetted by a credible, standards-based source,” she said.

Look for credible sources

But what is a credible source?

“You want to look for evidence that a news source or a journalist on the ground is aspiring for ethical guidelines or professional standards. Is this source striving for accuracy and transparency and independence?” Covington said.

One way to verify a source’s credibility is to look at what it does when it has to correct the record.

“Does this source publish corrections? And this is especially true in breaking news: Journalists will get things wrong or will have to correct earlier reports as more information is coming to light. But one good sign of credibility is that a source corrects the record quickly and prominently,” Covington said.

Sinclair suggested going to the websites AllSides and GroundNews, which highlight how credible news media from different political camps cover the same events.

“[AllSides] rates these different news sources so that you can go in order to get a sampling of perspectives,” she said.

A way to spot information lacking objectivity or balance is to look for content that tries to play on your emotions.

“There’s objective reporting, and then there’s heavily emotionally-laden reporting,” Sinclair said.

Look for messages that are trying to invoke anger, contempt or disgust.

“Whenever it hits that trifecta of those three emotions, then it’s getting into invoking what we call moral outrage. And so the more you see a post that is trying to make you feel moral outrage, then that is reason to be concerned,” she said.

Be skeptical of claims from either side

Sinclair — who has done work on how misinformation can be used to promote hate and violence — cautioned that one of the mistakes a news reader can make is simply believing whatever one side or another in a hot conflict says.

“I would just always go in with a skeptical account from anything that comes from either side in the conflict because of course they’re highly motivated to tell their own side,” she said.

She emphasized how in wars like the ones between Israel and Gaza, both sides will portray themselves as victims and the others as negatively as possible to wage information warfare. This can make it challenging to figure out what is true.

Sinclair recalled her time living in Ireland during “the Troubles,” the period of unrest in the region.

“Any event that occurred, no matter if I flipped the channel, it would be a completely different account of the same thing that had occurred,” she said.

As an alternative to listening only to the sides of the conflict, she suggested going to third-party news organizations that can vet claims from either side and present a more objective view.