Saturday, February 6, 2016

Skeptical exploration

The internet offers great access to information. It also provides great access to misinformation.
We need to be our own gatekeepers but there are resources to help us.
www.snoops.com and www.politifact.com/ can help us on  big stories. They get it mostly right. I encourage you to visit those sites. If you are seeking information about an individual, there are valuable sites. https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets.aspx is a site that lists Pennsylvania court information that can gain perspective about individuals involved in stories. 
But there are some strategies to use on your own.
1) If there are spelling or grammatical errors in the headline. Be skeptical that they checked their facts.
2) If they reference history - historical facts are available on reliable websites.
3) If they say someone said something - check YouTube. Often there will be a video - hopefully unedited - where you can see what they really said.
4) If the headline seeks emotional response - be suspicious. Propaganda is designed to get you to hooked without much though. They are "selling" an idea. Be sure it's really the idea that you value.
5) Above all else - Are the facts right? If you are truly on the right side of an issue, the information you use to support that position will be based in truth.
The bottom line is truth will ultimately prevail and truth will ALWAYS set us free. Be on the side of truth and you cannot go wrong. We just need to know where to find it and how to share it.

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