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How To Avoid Believing Something Dumb.

The techniques fact-checkers use to figure out what’s true.

Steve QJ
6 min readJul 27, 2020

Hey! Did you know that aliens once attacked the Earth after a meteor crashed into a farmer’s field in New Jersey? Or that there are more trees on Earth than there are stars in the entire Milky Way? How about the fact that the coronavirus is a secret plot by Bill Gates to implant tracking devices into all of our bodies?

Ok fine, these might not actually be true. But there are a lot of people who believe they are. And though it’s (very, very) tempting to dismiss them as idiots, the fact is that they’re often falling for the same kind of cognitive tricks that the media uses to fool all of us.

Ever since Kellyanne Conway proudly declared that she was offering alternative facts (and long before that really) it’s become increasingly common to judge information based on whether it feels right. Even if you don’t think you do this, you do.

So how do we safeguard against fake news? The truth is, it can be really difficult, but here’s a checklist you can use to at least minimise your chances of believing something dumb.

Check if the fact is true before reacting.

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Steve QJ
Steve QJ

Written by Steve QJ

Race. Politics. Culture. Sometimes other things. Almost always polite. Find more at https://steveqj.substack.com

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