Fact checking

In the age of the internet, millions of articles are shared everyday all over social media such as Facebook and Twitter. But a lot of the time these articles are shared mindlessly which then leads to the spread of misinformation. As journalists, it is our job to report the facts and I personally believe that this duty carries over into our leisure time on our own social media platforms. Before reposting an article on the Internet from a wary source, journalists should do their due diligence and research the facts presented to them. This task is simple but often overlooked. If an article presents facts that seem too good to be true, a quick google search can reveal instant results, such as other sources backing up what the article claimed. A photo can be searched as well, using reverse image search. Just this weekend an article was being passed around that at the premiere of Black Panther, a young white woman was attacked by a group of black teens for just showing up. The article claimed she was beat over the head with a beer bottle because she was white and “intruding” on black culture. The picture looked familiar to me so I put it into google and an old article popped up about a Swedish woman being attacked by a man she rejected. Passing around this article was spreading misinformation and was made with the intent to shine a negative light on black people as whole. As journalists, we should take these extra steps to ensure the information we are spreading is true to minimize harm.