How to Spot and Counter Disinformation Online
Anyone can post something online and reach thousands of people. Sometimes, it's disinformation — which is created to trick you into believing something that isn't true. This can be dangerous and all of us can help stop it spreading. Take this course to help you recognize disinformation, stop its spread, and help protect your community.
Start Free Course
Why Counter Disinformation
What you share online can spread quickly — especially when it makes you feel scared or angry. These powerful emotions can make you want to share what you see, sometimes without checking first if it's true. People who create disinformation know this and use this to trick you into spreading information that isn't true.
You might not be able to stop people from creating disinformation, but you can help slow its spread. In some cases, this could even save lives.
How You Can Help
Being able to spot and stop the spread of disinformation is a powerful skill. By signing up for this course, you're taking action to make the world safer by stopping the spread of unreliable information.
With a new lesson delivered to your inbox each day, you'll learn how to recognize different types of disinformation and what to do when you spot it.
How to Spot and Counter Disinformation Online
Format
5 lessons, 15-20 minutes each, delivered daily to your email inbox
Or download all 5 lessons as a PDF
What You Will Learn
- Recognize disinformation and why it spreads
- Recognize emotional, dramatic, and provocative content
- Understand the danger of fabricated claims and selective evidence
- Protect yourself from bots and trolls
- Spot hacked accounts and protect your own accounts
Course Overview
5 Lessons
Lesson 1
What is Disinformation?Learn the difference between disinformation and misinformation, why disinformation exists, and how it spreads so easily.
Lesson 2
Provocative, Dramatic, or Outlandish ContentLearn to recognize disinformation that triggers our emotions and how to stop it from spreading.
Lesson 3
Fabricated Claims, Selective Evidence, and Distorted Images or VideoLearn how disinformation is created to look like it's real, and what to do when you spot it.
Lesson 4
Bots and TrollsLearn what bots and trolls are, why they are dangerous, and how to protect your social media feeds.
Lesson 5
Hacked AccountsLearn how people use hacking to spread disinformation, how to spot a hacked account, and how to protect your own accounts from being hacked.
Fast Company 2023 World Changing Ideas Honoree
About This Partnership
Verified was launched by the United Nations in response to the COVID crisis to cut through the noise and deliver lifesaving information and fact-based advice. The global program now addresses other issue areas while building digital literacy to help communities protect themselves from harmful misinformation and disinformation. Since its inception, Verified has reached over 1 billion people around the world.
wikiHow is the world's largest website on a mission to help every person on the planet learn how to do anything. We partner with 1,000+ experts from a wide range of fields to ensure our content is accurate and based on well-established research and testimony. We work closely with each expert to review information, answer reader questions, and add credible advice. In the face of a global pandemic, it's now more important than ever to help people learn how to confidently navigate the internet. Learn more about our editorial process and why millions of readers trust wikiHow .
