The library
Every guide, on one bench
210 evergreen reads. Reference and explainer writing only: nothing here claims a news event, an audience or an archive that does not exist.
Showing all 210 guides
Account checking (26)
Handles, badges, join dates and the patterns behind a profile.
Account checkingReading A Profile's Join Date And ActivityA profile's creation date is one of the simplest checks available, and also one of the easiest to overlook entirely...Account checkingSpotting Bot Like Posting PatternsAutomated accounts tend to leave behind a rhythm that genuine human posting rarely matches: identical phrasing reused...Account checkingRecognising Impersonation AccountsImpersonation accounts copy a recognisable name, photo and bio closely enough to pass a quick glance, counting on the...Account checkingUnderstanding What A Verification Badge MeansA verification badge signals something considerably narrower than most people tend to assume at first glance. Depending...Account checkingCross Checking A Handle Across PlatformsGenuine organisations and well known individuals usually maintain a fairly consistent presence across several platforms...Account checkingSpotting A Sudden Bio Or Name ChangeAn account that abruptly changes its display name, bio or profile photo, especially after a long period of visible...Account checkingChecking Follower To Following RatiosA very high number of accounts followed alongside very few followers received in return is a fairly common pattern...Account checkingRecognising A Parody Account's DisclaimerParody and fan accounts often carry a small disclaimer somewhere in the bio, words like 'parody', 'fan account' or 'not...Account checkingWhat Account Age Alone Can And Cannot Tell YouAn older account carries a certain baseline credibility simply because it has existed and posted consistently over an...Account checkingChecking Whether A Business Account Looks LegitimateA genuine business account usually links consistently back to a verifiable website, shows a visible history of ordinary...Account checkingSpotting The Signs Of A Hacked AccountA hacked account often keeps its established history entirely intact while its recent behaviour shifts abruptly and...Account checkingSpotting Coordinated Inauthentic BehaviourCoordinated inauthentic behaviour describes multiple accounts working together to amplify a single message while...Account checkingRecognising A Sockpuppet AccountA sockpuppet is a secondary account created and quietly controlled by someone already active elsewhere under their own...Account checkingChecking An Account's Engagement For AuthenticityGenuine engagement tends to look noticeably varied when examined closely: comments that respond specifically to the...Account checkingUnderstanding A Pinned Post's Role And ContextA pinned post sits permanently at the top of a profile regardless of when it was actually originally published, which...Account checkingSpotting A Deactivated Then Reactivated AccountSome platforms preserve a username and its full history even after a period of deactivation, meaning an account can go...Account checkingChecking An Account's Stated Location Against Its ActivityA profile's stated location is self reported by the account holder and easily inaccurate, whether through deliberate...Account checkingRecognising A Name And Handle MismatchA display name and an underlying handle serve quite different purposes on most platforms: the display name can be...Account checkingUnderstanding A Platform's Own Trust And Safety LabelsMany platforms apply their own labels to accounts or content, flags for automated activity, notices about disputed...Account checkingSpotting An Account That Exists To Sell Followers Or EngagementSome accounts exist purely to generate the appearance of popularity for later sale, posting only minimal original...Account checkingBuilding A Personal Account Vetting RoutineA personal routine for checking unfamiliar accounts, join date, posting history, cross platform presence, engagement...Account checkingRecognising An Account That Recycles A Stranger's PhotosSome accounts build an entire fabricated persona around photos taken directly from someone else's genuine, unrelated...Account checkingChecking Whether An Account's Claimed Profession Matches Its ContentAn account claiming a specific professional background, whether medical, legal or financial in nature, should generally...Account checkingUnderstanding What A Suspended And Reinstated Account Tells YouAn account carrying a visible history of suspension and later reinstatement has, at some identifiable point in its...Account checkingSpotting An Account Cluster Built Around A Single CampaignA cluster of accounts all created around roughly the very same time, posting narrowly on one specific topic or campaign...Account checkingBuilding Trust Gradually Rather Than All At OnceExtending full, complete trust to an unfamiliar account immediately, based purely on a single convincing post or...
Claim checking (27)
Quotes, numbers and headlines, traced back to what was actually said.
Claim checkingPrimary Sources Versus Secondary AccountsA primary source sits closest to the event or fact in question: original data, a direct recording, an official...Claim checkingReading A Study Abstract With CareAn abstract is a compressed summary written to be quick to scan, which makes it a tempting shortcut and a genuinely...Claim checkingCorrelation Is Not The Same As CausationTwo things rising or falling together is one of the easiest patterns to notice and, unfortunately, one of the easiest...Claim checkingTracing A Statistic Back To Its SourceNumbers travel further than the context that originally explained them ever does. A statistic can pass through several...Claim checkingUnderstanding Sample Size CaveatsA finding drawn from a handful of participants and one drawn from tens of thousands can be reported in nearly identical...Claim checkingChecking A Quote Against Its Full ContextA short quotation can be entirely accurate word for word and still manage to misrepresent what was actually said...Claim checkingCross Referencing A Claim Across Independent OutletsChecking a claim against several outlets only strengthens genuine confidence when those outlets are actually...Claim checkingWhen An Old Claim Resurfaces As NewClaims rarely disappear entirely once debunked or otherwise resolved, they tend to resurface again later, sometimes...Claim checkingTelling Opinion Apart From Reported FactOpinion and reported fact can sit side by side within the very same article, the same broadcast, even the same single...Claim checkingWeighing An Anonymous Claim FairlyAnonymous claims sit in an awkward middle ground: sometimes genuinely necessary to protect a vulnerable source, and...Claim checkingUnderstanding Margin Of Error In A PollA poll result is fundamentally an estimate, not an exact measurement of anything, and the margin of error describes the...Claim checkingRecognising Loaded Language In A ClaimLoaded language uses emotionally charged words to shape a reader's reaction before the underlying facts have even been...Claim checkingVerifying A Claim About A Law Or RegulationClaims about what a law requires, permits or forbids are remarkably easy to state confidently and surprisingly easy to...Claim checkingAssessing An Expert's Credentials Before Trusting A ClaimA credential is only genuinely relevant when it closely matches the specific claim being made by the person holding it...Claim checkingUnderstanding What A Retraction Actually MeansA retraction is a formal withdrawal of previously published material, usually issued because of a significant error...Claim checkingChecking A Historical Claim Against ArchivesClaims about past events can drift considerably over time through repeated retelling, gradually acquiring details that...Claim checkingRecognising Satire Mistaken For A Factual ClaimSatirical writing uses exaggeration and invented scenarios for comic or critical effect, and it is occasionally...Claim checkingVerifying A Claim Made In A Translated MessageTranslation itself, whether automated or done carefully by a human, can subtly shift meaning even when technically...Claim checkingUnderstanding What Peer Review Does And Does Not GuaranteePeer review itself means other qualified researchers working in a relevant field examined a study carefully before...Claim checkingSpotting A False Balance Between Unequal ClaimsFalse balance occurs when two positions are presented as equally credible despite a significant difference in the...Claim checkingChecking A Claim Against Official Published FiguresMany claims involving numbers, population figures, economic data, official counts of one kind or another, can be...Claim checkingUnderstanding A Preprint Before Treating It As SettledA preprint is research shared publicly before it has undergone any formal peer review process, offering faster access...Claim checkingChecking A Claim That Cites A Leaked DocumentClaims citing leaked material always carry an inherent tension worth understanding clearly: the leak itself may well be...Claim checkingRecognising When A Number Has Been Rounded MisleadinglyRounding a figure makes it noticeably easier and quicker to read at a glance, but repeated rounding carried out across...Claim checkingUnderstanding The Difference Between A Ban And A RecallThese two terms are often used rather loosely in casual everyday conversation but actually carry distinct, quite...Claim checkingChecking A Claim That Spreads Through Forwarded MessagesForwarded messages travel through private channels that are considerably harder to search and cross reference than...Claim checkingBuilding A Personal Claim Checking ChecklistA personal checklist, covering source, date, corroboration and full surrounding context, turns the many individual...
Classroom kits (26)
Lesson shapes, discussion guides and routines for teachers.
Classroom kitsA Ten Minute Warm Up On Spotting FakesShort warm ups work well because verification is genuinely a habit as much as a skill, and habits form through steady...Classroom kitsBuilding A Class Verification Checklist TogetherA checklist built collaboratively tends to stick better than one simply handed out ready made, since the process of...Classroom kitsRunning A Reverse Image Search DemoA live demonstration lands harder than any description ever could, and reverse image search is one of the easiest...Classroom kitsA Group Activity On Claim TriangulationTriangulation means checking a claim against several independent sources rather than trusting or dismissing it based on...Classroom kitsA Discussion Guide On Healthy ScepticismHealthy scepticism sits in a narrow band between gullibility and outright cynicism, and it is worth naming that band...Classroom kitsSetting Up A Classroom Fact Check CornerA dedicated physical or digital space for fact checking, a corner of the room, a shared board somewhere visible, gives...Classroom kitsA Worksheet Structure For Source EvaluationA simple worksheet with a handful of genuinely consistent questions, who published this, when was it published, what is...Classroom kitsTurning Verification Into A Weekly Class HabitA short, recurring weekly slot, even just five minutes at the start of a lesson, does considerably more to build a...Classroom kitsA Role Play Exercise On Spotting Scam MessagesRole play itself works particularly well for scam recognition because it puts students inside the actual moment of...Classroom kitsA Peer Review Exercise For Shared LinksAsk students to bring in a link they encountered fairly recently and would honestly have shared without much thought at...Classroom kitsBuilding A Classroom Glossary WallA visible, steadily growing glossary wall gives verification vocabulary a genuine physical presence within the room...Classroom kitsA Short Unit On Image LiteracyA focused short unit, spanning several sessions rather than being crammed into a single lesson, gives image literacy...Classroom kitsTeaching Students To Pause Before SharingThe pause before sharing something is simple enough to state plainly and genuinely difficult to practise reliably under...Classroom kitsA Group Debate On Source ReliabilityStructured debate works particularly well for exploring source reliability because it forces students to clearly...Classroom kitsA Reflection Journal For Verification PracticeA simple ongoing journal, just a few sentences written after each verification exercise completed, builds a genuine...Classroom kitsAge Appropriate Framing For Younger LearnersYounger learners genuinely benefit from concrete, simple framing rather than abstract discussion of misinformation as a...Classroom kitsA Parent Guide To Home Verification HabitsVerification habits taught quite carefully at school tend to stick considerably better when they are also reinforced...Classroom kitsBuilding Confidence Without Teaching CynicismThere is a genuinely real, well documented risk within verification education of overcorrecting into blanket distrust...Classroom kitsA Cross Curricular Verification Project OutlineVerification skills genuinely apply naturally across many different subjects well beyond media studies alone, a history...Classroom kitsA Classroom Routine For The Daily ScrollMost verification challenges that students actually face happen well outside the classroom entirely, during ordinary...Classroom kitsTeaching The Difference Between Doubt And DismissalDoubt keeps a question genuinely open pending further evidence, while dismissal closes it off prematurely without ever...Classroom kitsAssessing Verification Skills Without A Formal TestFormal tests can reasonably measure whether students accurately remember the steps of a checklist, but genuine...Classroom kitsA Small Group Rotation On Verification StationsSetting up several distinct, separate stations, each one focused on a single technique, reverse image search, source...Classroom kitsEnding A Unit With A Student Led ShowcaseClosing out a verification unit by having students themselves openly present and explain their own checked example...Classroom kitsBuilding A Takeaway Card For Verification HabitsA small, physical or digital reference card summarising the core habits taught, pause first, check the source...Classroom kitsA Discussion Guide On Why People Share Things They Have Not CheckedUnderstanding the underlying motivations behind sharing something quickly, wanting to warn others in time, wanting to...
Glossary (26)
Plain definitions for the words verification people use.
GlossaryGlossary: MisinformationMisinformation describes false or inaccurate information shared without any intent to deceive anyone. The person...GlossaryGlossary: DisinformationDisinformation is false information created or spread with deliberate intent to deceive its audience. Unlike...GlossaryGlossary: DeepfakeA deepfake is synthetic media, usually video, image or audio, generated or altered using machine learning to depict...GlossaryGlossary: Lateral ReadingLateral reading describes the practice of leaving a website to check what other sources say about it, rather than...GlossaryGlossary: Confirmation BiasConfirmation bias is the tendency to notice, accept and remember information that fits what someone already believes...GlossaryGlossary: MalinformationMalinformation describes genuine, accurate information that is shared with the deliberate intent to cause harm, which...GlossaryGlossary: MetadataMetadata is, quite simply, data about data, information describing a file rather than forming its actual visible...GlossaryGlossary: AstroturfingAstroturfing describes coordinated activity carefully designed to look like spontaneous, grassroots public opinion when...GlossaryGlossary: PhishingPhishing describes a deliberate attempt to trick someone into revealing sensitive information, passwords, financial...GlossaryGlossary: Fact-CheckA fact check is a structured examination of a specific, checkable claim against the available evidence, typically...GlossaryGlossary: SockpuppetA sockpuppet is an online identity created by someone who already has an established presence elsewhere under their own...GlossaryGlossary: ClickbaitClickbait describes content, usually a headline specifically, deliberately designed to generate clicks by creating...GlossaryGlossary: Primary SourceA primary source provides direct, firsthand evidence of an event or fact under discussion: original data collected at...GlossaryGlossary: Echo ChamberAn echo chamber describes an environment where a person is repeatedly exposed to information and opinions that simply...GlossaryGlossary: Filter BubbleA filter bubble describes the way personalised systems can gradually narrow down what a person actually sees over time...GlossaryGlossary: ProvenanceProvenance simply refers to the documented, traceable history of an item, image or piece of information, carefully...GlossaryGlossary: CorroborationCorroboration simply means genuine independent confirmation of a claim through a separate, unrelated source rather than...GlossaryGlossary: AttributionAttribution simply means clearly identifying the actual, genuine source of a piece of information, a quote, an image, a...GlossaryGlossary: VerificationVerification is simply the ongoing, active process of carefully and patiently establishing whether a specific piece of...GlossaryGlossary: Media LiteracyMedia literacy broadly describes the wider ability to access, analyse, evaluate and create media thoughtfully, of which...GlossaryGlossary: Digital FootprintA digital footprint is simply the steadily accumulated trail of information a person or organisation leaves behind...GlossaryGlossary: CheapfakeA cheapfake describes manipulated media created using simple, widely available techniques, basic editing, mislabelling...GlossaryGlossary: Context CollapseContext collapse describes what happens when content originally created for one specific audience or narrow setting...GlossaryGlossary: Source TriangulationSource triangulation means carefully checking a claim against several genuinely different, entirely independent types...GlossaryGlossary: BotA bot is an automated account or program that performs specific actions, posting content, replying to others, liking...GlossaryGlossary: DebunkingDebunking means demonstrating clearly that a specific claim is false, typically by presenting the actual evidence that...
Image verification (27)
Photos, screenshots and video: where they came from and what was changed.
Image verificationReverse Image Search, The BasicsA reverse image search flips the usual question. Instead of typing words to find a picture, you feed in a picture and...Image verificationReading The Metadata Behind A PhotoEvery digital photo carries a quiet second layer beneath the picture itself, called metadata. It can include the...Image verificationHow Cropping Quietly Changes A Photo's MeaningCropping needs no editing skill beyond selecting a rectangle, which is exactly why it remains among the most common...Image verificationWhat Repeated Resaving Does To An ImageEvery time a compressed image format is opened and saved again, a small amount of detail is discarded to keep the...Image verificationSpotting A Tampered Or Removed WatermarkWatermarks exist to mark ownership, and removing or covering one is a reasonably reliable sign that someone wanted an...Image verificationZooming In Without Reading Too Much Into PixelsZooming into a photo feels like a reliable way to uncover hidden truth, but past a certain point the software is not...Image verificationGeolocating A Photo Using LandmarksGeolocation means working out where a photo was taken using visible clues rather than any attached location data, which...Image verificationChecking Shadows And Weather For ConsistencyShadows fall at angles determined by the sun's position in the sky, which changes predictably with the time of day, the...Image verificationReverse Searching A Video By Key FramesVideo does not always lend itself neatly to a single reverse image search, but pausing at a distinctive frame and...Image verificationWhen A Thumbnail Does Not Match The Full ImageThumbnails are small, heavily compressed previews, and platforms sometimes generate them from a cropped or resized...Image verificationMirror Flips And Orientation TricksFlipping an image horizontally is a remarkably simple edit that can slip past a quick glance entirely, since the...Image verificationRecognising AI Generated Image ArtifactsGenerated images have distinctive weak points, even as the underlying technology keeps improving month after month...Image verificationRecognising A Green Screen CompositeComposite images combine a foreground subject with a separately sourced background, and even well made composites often...Image verificationChecking Upload And Posting Dates On A PlatformMost platforms display when content was originally posted somewhere on the page, though the label is genuinely easy to...Image verificationCross Referencing Multiple Angles Of The Same SceneA single photo captures only one moment from one fixed position, which leaves considerable room for a misleading...Image verificationRecognising Recycled Crisis ImageryDramatic images from past disasters and crises are frequently recirculated during entirely new and unrelated events...Image verificationSpotting A Screenshot's Own Signs Of EditingA screenshot claiming to show a message or post can itself be edited after capture, using ordinary photo tools to alter...Image verificationChecking Satellite Imagery Basics For A Location ClaimPublicly available satellite imagery can confirm or challenge a claim about where something took place, checking...Image verificationSpotting Inconsistent Lighting Direction Across A SceneLight in a genuine photo falls from a single consistent source, meaning shadows cast across every object within the...Image verificationRecognising A Recoloured Or Filtered Image Used To MisleadA colour filter or grading adjustment can shift the entire mood of an otherwise unaltered photo quite dramatically...Image verificationBuilding A Personal Image Check RoutineA personal routine turns scattered individual techniques, reverse search, metadata, cropping awareness, into a single...Image verificationRecognising A Stock Photo Used Out Of ContextStock photography is built for reuse across many unrelated contexts, which makes it a frequent source of misleading...Image verificationChecking Icon And Interface Clues In App ScreenshotsApp interfaces update fairly regularly, which means icons, layouts and typography carried over from an older version...Image verificationSpotting A Staged Versus Candid PhotoStaged photography arranges its subjects and setting quite deliberately before capture even begins, while candid...Image verificationWhy Image Format Matters For VerificationDifferent image formats handle detail quite differently from one another: some compress heavily to save storage space...Image verificationRecognising A Misleadingly Stitched PanoramaPanoramic and stitched images combine several individual photos into one single wide composite, and the stitching...Image verificationBuilding A Habit Of Pausing On A Viral ImageViral images spread quickly precisely because they provoke a strong emotional reaction in whoever sees them, and that...
Practice exercises (26)
Short drills you can run on your own feed this week.
Practice exercisesA Five Minute Daily Verification DrillConsistency beats intensity when building a genuine verification habit over time. A short daily drill, picking one...Practice exercisesPractising With A Single Suspicious HeadlineHeadlines are built for speed, which makes them a useful and genuinely low stakes place to practise scepticism in daily...Practice exercisesA Self Test On Spotting Edited PhotosGather a small set of images, some untouched, some lightly edited, and try sorting them before checking metadata or...Practice exercisesA Weekly Claim Checking ChallengeSet aside one claim each week, sourced from anywhere at all, conversation, a message, something read online in passing...Practice exercisesPractising Account Checks On Unfamiliar ProfilesPick an unfamiliar profile, one with no personal stakes attached either way, and work through the full account checking...Practice exercisesPractising A Reverse Search On Your Own PhotosRunning a reverse image search on a photo you took yourself is a genuinely low stakes way to learn what the results...Practice exercisesA Scam Spotting Speed RoundGather a handful of message examples, drawn from your own inbox over time or written carefully from memory, and sort...Practice exercisesPractising Source Triangulation With Three TabsPick a claim and open three separate tabs at once: one for the original source, one for independent coverage found...Practice exercisesA Self Quiz On Glossary TermsWrite down a small handful of verification terms, misinformation, lateral reading, corroboration, and try defining each...Practice exercisesPractising The Pause Before SharingThe single most protective verification habit may well be the simplest one available: pausing before sharing anything...Practice exercisesAn Exercise On Spotting Urgency Tactics Under Time PressureSet a short timer running and work through a handful of messages, some genuine, some scam examples mixed in, deciding...Practice exercisesPractising Verification On An Audio ClipAudio content is often checked considerably less carefully than images or video are, partly because fewer familiar...Practice exercisesA Reflection Exercise After A Failed CheckEveryone occasionally shares or believes something that later turns out to be wrong despite their best efforts, and...Practice exercisesPractising Cross Platform Account ChecksChoose an account and deliberately check its presence across every single platform where it claims to exist, comparing...Practice exercisesA Beginner's Verification Obstacle CourseAssemble a short sequence of varied examples in advance, an image, a claim, an account, a message, each one requiring a...Practice exercisesA Checklist Run Through On A Real MessageTake an actual message you personally received fairly recently yourself in your own inbox, one that produced even just...Practice exercisesPractising Metadata Checks On Your Own FilesOpen the properties or details panel on a small handful of your own personal photos and note carefully what metadata is...Practice exercisesA Partner Exercise On Claim CheckingPair up with someone else and each bring a claim you personally encountered recently, then swap with your partner and...Practice exercisesPractising Lateral Reading On A Brand New TopicChoose a genuinely unfamiliar topic, ideally one you actually know very little about beforehand, and practise lateral...Practice exercisesA Self Audit Of Your Own Sharing HabitsLook back carefully and honestly through your own recent shares, messages forwarded to others, posts reshared publicly...Practice exercisesPractising Scepticism Without Falling Into CynicismTake a source you already generally trust quite a great deal and deliberately look quite hard for its genuine...Practice exercisesPractising Verification With Old Family PhotosOld family photographs offer a genuinely low stakes, personally interesting way to practise dating and context skills...Practice exercisesA Group Exercise On Collective Fact CheckingWorking through a claim together as a whole group, rather than tackling it entirely individually, surfaces a...Practice exercisesPractising Verification Under Time PressureReal world verification very often happens under some meaningful degree of time pressure, a message demanding a...Practice exercisesA Monthly Verification Habit TrackerA simple tracker, essentially a tally of checks actually performed over the course of a month, gives an otherwise...Practice exercisesTurning Practice Into A Lasting RoutineDeliberate practice exercises are genuinely valuable precisely because they function well as temporary scaffolding...
Scam patterns (26)
The pressure tricks and payment asks that repeat across scams.
Scam patternsUrgency And Pressure As A Scam SignalManufactured urgency is one of the most consistent features across scam formats, precisely because it works so reliably...Scam patternsIf An Offer Looks Too Good To Be TrueThe phrase is a cliché precisely because it keeps being proven right, again and again, across countless different...Scam patternsRecognising A Phishing LinkPhishing links rely on close resemblance rather than exact matching, using a domain name that looks right at a casual...Scam patternsFake Delivery Notification PatternsDelivery scam messages exploit the fact that almost everyone is expecting some parcel at any given time, making a vague...Scam patternsCommon Romance Scam Warning SignsRomance scams typically move quickly toward intense declarations of affection, often well before any real world meeting...Scam patternsInvestment Scam Red FlagsInvestment scams typically promise unusually high, remarkably consistent returns with little or no genuinely explained...Scam patternsImpersonation Of Officials And AuthoritiesMessages claiming to be from a tax office, law enforcement or another authority rely heavily on the weight those...Scam patternsPrize And Lottery Scam PatternsA message announcing an unexpected prize or lottery win, especially for a competition the recipient does not even...Scam patternsJob Offer Scam Warning SignsScam job offers often arrive unsolicited out of nowhere, promise unusually high pay for minimal or vaguely described...Scam patternsFake Charity Appeal PatternsFake charity appeals tend to surface quickly around moments of visible need, using urgency and emotional framing...Scam patternsTech Support Scam TacticsTech support scams often begin with an alarming pop up or an unsolicited call claiming a device is infected or...Scam patternsSubscription Trap PatternsSubscription traps typically offer an appealing free trial or a very low introductory price up front, while quietly...Scam patternsQR Code Scam RisksA QR code hides its actual destination entirely until it is scanned, which makes it a genuinely convenient vehicle for...Scam patternsMarketplace Buying And Selling Scam PatternsOnline marketplace scams often involve a seller pushing a buyer toward completing payment outside the platform's own...Scam patternsGift Card Payment Red FlagsA request for payment specifically in gift cards is one of the more reliable scam indicators available anywhere, since...Scam patternsFake Invoice Scam PatternsFake invoices carefully imitate the format of genuine billing correspondence, hoping a busy recipient simply pays...Scam patternsFake Customer Service AccountsFake customer service accounts carefully monitor public complaints directed at real, well known businesses and respond...Scam patternsCloned Website RecognitionA cloned website copies a genuine site's overall design closely enough to pass a quick, casual glance, often reached...Scam patternsSIM Swap Warning SignsA SIM swap involves someone deliberately convincing a mobile provider to transfer a phone number onto a device they...Scam patternsRental Scam PatternsRental scams often involve a listing for a property at an unusually attractive price for the area, paired with a...Scam patternsCrypto Giveaway Scam PatternsCrypto giveaway scams typically promise to multiply any amount sent by the victim, a small transfer supposedly returned...Scam patternsVoice Cloning Scam AwarenessVoice cloning technology can now reproduce a highly recognisable voice from a relatively short audio sample gathered...Scam patternsFake Countdown Timer Pressure TricksA visible countdown timer displayed prominently on a page creates a strong, immediate sense of real urgency for the...Scam patternsOverpayment And Fake Cheque ScamsThis particular pattern typically involves a buyer sending a payment that appears to noticeably exceed the agreed price...Scam patternsWarranty And Renewal Scam CallsUnsolicited calls warning urgently that a vehicle warranty or a subscription is about to expire, urging immediate...Scam patternsBuilding A Household Scam Recognition HabitScam recognition works considerably best as a genuinely shared household habit rather than as an individual skill...
Source literacy (26)
Who is speaking, who paid for it, and what kind of page you are on.
Source literacyWhat Makes A Source CorroboratedCorroboration means an independent source confirms a claim without simply repeating the first report word for word from...Source literacyChecking A Website's About PageAn About page reveals more than most readers bother to check before trusting a site's content. Who runs the site, what...Source literacyRecognising Sponsored Content MarkersSponsored content is designed to resemble the surrounding editorial material closely enough that a quick reader might...Source literacyUnderstanding Wire Service AttributionMany outlets republish reporting from wire services rather than producing every single story themselves from scratch...Source literacyRecognising Clickbait Headline PatternsClickbait headlines are built to create a small, nagging gap between what is known and what is promised, a curiosity...Source literacyUnderstanding Lookalike Domain NamesA lookalike domain swaps a single letter, adds a hyphen, or changes an ending slightly to closely resemble a familiar...Source literacyRecognising A Press Release Repackaged As NewsA press release is written by an organisation specifically to promote itself, and some outlets republish these releases...Source literacyChecking A Site's Corrections PolicyA visible, easy to find corrections policy signals that a publication treats accuracy as an ongoing responsibility...Source literacyUnderstanding Bylines And Author PagesA byline names the specific person responsible for a piece of writing, and a linked author page often shows their other...Source literacyRecognising Satire Site ConventionsSatire sites publish deliberately exaggerated or entirely invented stories for comic effect, and most include some form...Source literacyUnderstanding Paywalls And Legitimate Archive ToolsA paywall restricts full access to an article to paying subscribers only, which can make verification considerably...Source literacyChecking A Source's Ownership And FundingKnowing who owns and funds a publication provides genuinely useful context for understanding its likely underlying...Source literacyRecognising An Aggregator Versus Original ReportingAn aggregator collects and summarises reporting done elsewhere by other outlets rather than conducting any original...Source literacyUnderstanding Dateline ConventionsA dateline, the short line sitting at the start of a news story naming a place and sometimes a date, traditionally...Source literacyRecognising Opinion Sections Versus News SectionsMost established publications carefully separate opinion and analysis from straight news reporting, usually through...Source literacyUnderstanding Embargoes And ExclusivesAn embargo is an agreed hold on publishing certain information until a set, pre agreed time, commonly used for research...Source literacyRecognising Astroturfed Comment SectionsA comment section can be manipulated fairly easily by a determined group to create an impression of overwhelming public...Source literacyUnderstanding What A Primary Document Link Adds To A StoryCareful reporting often links directly to the underlying document, data set or official record that a story is actually...Source literacyChecking Translation And Wire Credit LinesStories translated carefully from another language, or drawn from an international wire service somewhere, sometimes...Source literacyUnderstanding Lateral Reading In PracticeLateral reading means deliberately opening new tabs to check what other independent sources say about a site or claim...Source literacyChecking A Source Against An Established Fact Check DatabaseEstablished fact checking organisations carefully maintain searchable archives of previously checked claims going back...Source literacyUnderstanding A Source's Track Record Over TimeA single article on its own offers a fairly narrow view of a source's overall reliability, while a track record built...Source literacyRecognising An Outdated Cached Page Presented As CurrentSearch engines and archiving tools sometimes display a cached, considerably older, outdated version of a page rather...Source literacyHow Syndication Spreads One Story Across Many OutletsSyndication allows one single outlet's original story to be quite widely licensed and republished by many other...Source literacyChecking A Claim Against A Library Or Academic DatabasePublic and institutional library systems fairly often provide free access to academic databases and reference material...Source literacyBuilding A Personal Source Literacy HabitSource literacy, meaning understanding who is speaking, why, and how reliably they have spoken in the past, works...
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Photo credits (Creative Commons, via Openverse)
- [Bearded Man with Magnifying Glass Examining a Manuscript] by Creator:Antoine-Samuel Adam-Salomon (CC0)
- A magnifying glass by PLBechly (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Arne Tiselius' magnifying glass at the Nobel Museum (51978) by Rhododendrites (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Classic pose with a magnifying glass - model Gwyneth Ellis by Stephencdickson (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Classic pose with a magnifying glass - model Gwyneth Ellis (cropped) by Stephencdickson (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Convex lens (magnifying glass) and upside-down image by AntanO (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Large magnifier after customization 03 by Renato.pierri (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Magnifying Glass - Explorgender by Kiloueka (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Magnifying Glass - Explorgender (2) by Kiloueka (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Magnifying Glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany / Tiffany Studios (CC0)
- Magnifying Glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany / Tiffany Studios (CC0)
- Magnifying glass by Tomomarusan (CC BY 2.5)