5 Ways Not To Fall Victim To Misinformation

We are in a time when people do everything they can to “distract themselves”, to be constantly busy doing something… It’s paradoxical, because if we look back, it’s hard to find another time when we were as distracted from reality as we are now. . The point is that this state of living on the moon has consequences, like living as a victim of misinformation.

Worst of all, we had never received as much information as we do now. We are bombarded with information. From here, there and there, we receive information at every moment. The problem is that a lot of this data is false or at least misrepresented. We are victims of massive misinformation.

The consequences of this are very serious, especially in the field of politics. As much as we are not interested in the subject, we are constantly bombarded with false information about leaders and politicians, especially at times of elections or important decisions. And that is how many end up becoming sympathizers or choosing indifference as a strategy.

After all, what can we do to avoid being victims of misinformation?

1. Filter topics

It is essential to do an awareness exercise to determine what you really need to know. Note: you might be INTERESTED in knowing about baseball, for example, but leave that aside for now. The idea is that you define what you NEED to know, not so much what catches your attention.

What you need to know is everything that has to do directly with your life. What directly affects you. If you don’t want to be a victim of misinformation, prioritize these topics. Otherwise, you’ll easily end up wasting your time with irrelevant, yet eye-catching, information.

2. Filter sources

This is one of the most important mechanisms to avoid falling victim to misinformation. Nowadays, we give a lot of importance to who says things and little to what is said. Anyone can talk nonsense and viralize it, or spread falsehoods that, being massive, eventually are taken for granted.

Choose sources that are sufficiently recognized and serious. It’s not that you have to opt for the big media (which also misinform), but for websites, publications and people with a solid reputation. This does not mean that these sources are infallible, but they are more responsible ​​with what they say. It’s the best way to avoid being cheated.

3. Read books to avoid falling victim to misinformation

Books often present much more refined and reliable information. Writing a book is much harder than spreading a rumor on social media. It takes a lot more work and, besides, when it’s published by a prestigious publisher, it involves careful selection.

Books are an excellent source of information, especially on topics that involve a lot of opinions. Naturally, books by people with degrees, with consolidated professional careers or literarily recognized are better. Books provide more than information as they help to form a criterion.

4. Exercise your critical skill

Criticism is not about analyzing the negative that something or someone has. This refers more to the ability to evaluate, in this case, the information. To develop this ability, there is nothing more reasonable than training and exercising it. The best way to start doing this is to not buy everything they say.

Think, for example, if the person issuing information might have an interest in making you see the world in a certain way. Assess how much they want to impress you with what they say. Do they appeal to their reason or do they bet on making an impact? Do they make serious arguments or just use weak and isolated evidence? Skepticism helps to develop critical capacity.

5. Cultivate your conscience

Many problems in life stem from lack of awareness, but there is also a tendency to not want to know. We stop asking ourselves why our words and actions and those of others. We often want to live distracted, think or do only the temporary, which does not involve any reflection.

This is just as harmful as its opposite. We cannot live preoccupied with everything being aware of even the smallest action or word. So what we can do is find a balance. Cultivate our awareness in the face of what really matters and subtract the transcendence from what doesn’t matter.

If we become victims of misinformation, we will lose both our freedom and the possibility of having a clear and self-determined conscience. Therefore, we must take care of what enters our mind. Filter, decant, ponder. Thus, we can be more awake and free to decide.