Accurate information is the foundation of truly effective and sustainable advocacy. While it can be tempting to quickly reshare any information that “sounds right” to you, false and misleading claims muddy the narrative, weaken trust, and ultimately harm the cause. In this era of widespread disinformation & misinformation, it’s essential to verify all claims before you repeat or repost them.

The first step to fact-checking is to slow down. Before sharing a post or citing a statistic, take a moment to investigate the source. Ask yourself: is this a reputable source? How do they know what they claim to know? Whose perspective is centered and whose is left out? And why are they sharing this information, do they have a bias or vested interest in the debate?

If your source quotes or references other sources, you should also review the original source(s) using these questions. Be sure to also compare the context and framing of the sources — look out for “malinformation,” or information that is taken out of context in order to support a specific narrative.

There are many tools available to assist in this process. Fact-checking sites such as Snopes and PolitiFact can help you determine if a claim is truthful. You can use a reverse image search tool to identify the original source of an image or diagram. And, if you benefit from using mnemonic devices, consider the SIFT method, which includes the following steps: stop, investigate the source, find better coverage, and trace claims back to the original source. Visit the “Definition” link to learn more about the SIFT method and other helpful tools.

It may sound like a lot of work to do this for every post, but remember that those who intentionally propagate disinformation & misinformation rely on your complacency. In fact, the posts that make you the most emotional may be written that way to encourage you to reshare them quickly without investigating the claims. By getting into the habit of fact-checking every claim, you’ll be more prepared to do so when faced with upsetting information.