How to Spot Fake News and Misinformation Online

False stories spread faster than corrections. These simple habits, used by professional fact-checkers, help you tell what's real in under a minute.

Misleading headlines, doctored photos and made-up quotes travel quickly on social media, especially during breaking news. The good news is that you don't need special training to avoid being fooled. A few quick habits catch most false or misleading content.

The SIFT method

Many educators and fact-checkers teach a four-step approach developed by digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield, known as SIFT:

1. Stop. Before you share or react, pause. Ask whether you know the source and whether the claim seems designed to make you angry or afraid. Strong emotion is the most common sign a post wants you to act before you think.
2. Investigate the source. Who is behind this? Open a new tab and search the website or account name. Is it an established news organization, a satire site, an advocacy group or an account created last week?
3. Find better coverage. Search for the claim itself. If something big really happened, multiple reputable outlets will be reporting it. If you only find it on one obscure site, be skeptical.
4. Trace claims to the original context. Quotes get cut short, photos get recycled from old events, and studies get misdescribed. Find the original video, document or study and see what it actually says.

Read "laterally," like a fact-checker

Research on professional fact-checkers found that they rarely stay on a suspicious page trying to judge it by its looks. Instead, they quickly leave and see what other sources say about it. A slick website with an official-sounding name can still be unreliable — what others say about it tells you far more.

Red flags to look for

• Old news presented as new. Check the date. Stories from years ago often recirculate as if they just happened.
• Look-alike web addresses. Fake sites sometimes copy a real outlet's name with a small change or an odd ending such as ".com.co".
• No author, no sources. Real reporting usually names the reporter and explains where its information came from.
• ALL CAPS and exclamation points. Credible news rarely needs to shout.
• "They don't want you to know this." Claims of secret truths are a classic sign of misinformation.
• Satire taken seriously. Some sites publish jokes as fake news on purpose. Check the site's "About" page.

Checking photos and videos

Use a reverse image search, such as Google Lens or TinEye, to see where a photo first appeared online. Often you'll discover it is from a different event, country or year. With AI-generated images, look closely at hands, text, jewelry, reflections and backgrounds, which often contain odd distortions — though these tells are becoming harder to spot, so source-checking matters even more.

Trusted fact-checking resources

When you're unsure, these established fact-checkers are a good place to search:

• AP Fact Check
• Reuters Fact Check
• FactCheck.org (Annenberg Public Policy Center)
• PolitiFact (Poynter Institute)
• Snopes

Why it matters

Every share helps decide what other people see. Taking a moment to check before posting protects your friends and family from being misled — and makes your own feed more trustworthy over time.

Common questions

Is something true if many people are sharing it?

No. Popularity is not evidence. False stories often spread faster than true ones precisely because they are surprising or emotional. A claim shared thousands of times can still trace back to a single unreliable source. What matters is whether credible, independent outlets have confirmed it.

How can I tell if a website is a real news organization?

Look for an "About" page that names the organization's owners and editors, a physical address, a clear corrections policy, and bylines on articles. Then search for the outlet's name to see what other reputable sources and media watchdogs say about it. Be cautious of sites that copy a real outlet's logo or name with a small spelling change.

What should I do if I already shared something false?

Delete the post if you can, and consider posting a short correction so the people who saw it know it was wrong. Correcting your own mistakes publicly is one of the most effective ways to slow misinformation, because people tend to trust corrections from someone they know.

How do I talk to a friend or relative who shares false information?

Lead with curiosity rather than criticism. Ask where they saw it, share a reliable source privately rather than calling them out in public, and focus on the specific claim rather than their politics. People are more open to changing their minds when they don't feel attacked.