Thread by @mediawise

Is that an explosion in D.C or the scene out of a movie? Should I trust the account spreading news about looting? As the #blacklivesmatter and #GeorgeFloydProtests continues, you’re going to see a lot of #misinformation online. Here’s how to make sure you don’t share it:

We’re cracking open (virtually) the Verification Handbook for Disinformation and Media Manipulation, an EXCELLENT resource for fact-checking spearheaded by @CraigSilverman (with a bunch of awesome contributors), and bringing you some tips for verifying posts.

1. Make sure you’re looking at an authentic account. It could be a fake account or even a bot designed to spread #misinformation. Do another reverse image search 🔎 on the account’s profile image to see if it has been used before under a different name.

1a. This isn’t always the most fool-proof way to spot inauthentic accounts, but a string of eight numbers at the end of the user’s handle means Twitter automatically generated the username. Could just be someone too lazy to pick a name — or a bot.

1b. How old is the account? If it’s a new account with a ton of tweets and followers, that’s another red flag you may be looking at an inauthentic account. By the way, this @nytimes article has a great explanation of the different types of bots: nytimes.com/interactive/20…

1c. @Botometer is a tool that “calculates a score for how likely it is that a Twitter account and its followers are bots,” according to the handbook.

2. This image is fake. But claims to show an explosion in D.C. A quick reverse image search using one of these tools — Google Reverse Image Search, RevEye or InVid — immediately links to a fan page for the show Designated Survivor. H/T @JaneLytv

2a. Another reverse image search can also help you identify an image that’s being used out of context. This video looks sick. And it’s real. But it’s from last year. In Lebanon. Even a screenshot from a video can help you nail down the context.

3. Finally. If someone shared something from a website, make sure it’s from a legit source. Some red flags: No about page. No person or company in a copyright notice at the bottom of the page. No names or addresses listed. No author names or dates on articles.

3a. Check out the social shares buttons (the little FB or Twitter logos). If these lead to nowhere, the site was likely thrown together quickly, and might not be legit. Most importantly: Go beyond the homepage and explore the entire website. Look for anything that seems sus.

We could go on forever in this thread, but we won’t. Use these tips from the Verification Handbook to help you vet information online — even when we're not in times of crisis. And always tag us with #IsThisLegit if you want us to check something out. datajournalism.com/read/handbook/…