Check before you share
Put the course together into a 30-second check and a 5-minute check, and practise both on three viral posts.
The 30-second check, for everything
- Pause and notice your reaction
Angry, scared, delighted? A strong feeling is the signal to slow down, not speed up (lesson 6).
- What exactly is the claim?
Pull out the checkable part in one sentence (lesson 1).
- Do I know this source?
If not, one lateral search of its name in a new tab (lesson 3).
- Is anyone trustworthy reporting it?
Search the claim itself. If it's big and true, reliable outlets will have it: the F in SIFT, find better coverage.
Check yourself
What's the first step of the 30-second check?
- Search the source's name
- Pause and notice your own reaction
- Run a reverse image search
- Forward it to a friend who knows the topic
Show the answer
Pause and notice your own reaction
Right. Everything else depends on not sharing on autopilot. Noticing "this made me furious" is the moment the check begins.
The 5-minute check, for what you'll share or act on
- Trace it to the original: the study, the full video, the first post (lesson 3).
- Reverse-search any image and find its oldest copy (lesson 9).
- Check the numbers: out of how many, compared to what, where the axis starts (lesson 8).
- Name any move: a fake expert, a cherry-pick, false balance (lesson 7).
- Ask "if this were true, what else would be true?" and look for those traces (lesson 10).
Check yourself
You can't check everything for five minutes. Which posts deserve the 5-minute check?
- Only posts from people you don't know
- Ones you'll share, ones you'll act on, and ones that make you feel strongly
- Only posts with numbers or charts in them
- Every post you scroll past
Show the answer
Ones you'll share, ones you'll act on, and ones that make you feel strongly
Yes. Sharing spreads it, acting on it (a medicine, money, a trip) has consequences, and a strong feeling is when you're easiest to fool. Those three are worth five minutes.
THREE BUTTONS
Share, skip, or share with context
Every check ends in one of three places. Share it: you checked, it holds up and it's useful. Skip it: it's false, or you couldn't confirm it. Share with context: the thing is real but the framing is wrong, so you add the correction ("this photo is from 2019, not today"). And "not sure" is a perfectly good reason not to share.
A striking video of a storm turns out to be real, but from four years ago. You can skip it, or post it with "Old footage from 2021, not this week's storm".
Check yourself
You check a dramatic photo and find it's genuine, but it was taken in 2019 and is being shared as today's news. What's the best option?
- Share it as it is, because the photo is real
- Don't share it, or share it only with the correct date and context
- Share it with "not sure if this is today"
- Report the person who sent it to you
Show the answer
Don't share it, or share it only with the correct date and context
Right. The photo is real but the claim attached to it is false. Skip it, or share it with the context that fixes the claim.
Practice post 1
"Dr. Farzan reveals: one spoon of this seed every morning
melts belly fat in 7 days. Hundreds of happy customers."
Claim? One seed melts belly fat in a week
Evidence? Testimonials only, no comparison group
Who is it? Lateral search: "Dr." runs the shop selling
the seed; no medical training found
Elsewhere? No study, no health authority mentions itVerdict: skip.
Moves spotted: fake expert, anecdotes instead of evidence,
a seller who benefits.Skills used: the evidence ladder (lesson 1), "expert in what?" (lesson 7) and lateral reading (lesson 3).
Practice post 2
A photo of huge waves crashing over a seafront road.
Caption: "The storm hitting the coast TODAY. Stay home."
Reverse image search -> sort by oldest
Oldest copy: a news agency, several years ago,
a storm in another countryVerdict: skip, or share with context:
"This photo is from another country, years ago."Thirty seconds of reverse search (lesson 9). The waves were real; the date and place were not.
Practice post 3
A bar chart: "Cases DOUBLED this month"
Last month's bar looks tiny, this month's towers over it.
Where does the axis start? at 1,000, not 0
The actual numbers: 1,010 -> 1,020
Out of how many? a city of about 3 millionVerdict: skip.
The cases rose by 10, about 1%, not doubled.
The cut-off axis made a 1% rise look like a doubling.Checks used: where the axis starts and the absolute numbers (lesson 8).
Check yourself
Match each post to the check that cracks it
Show the answer
- A "Dr." selling a miracle seed → Lateral search of who they are
- A storm photo captioned "today" → Reverse image search
- "Cases doubled" on a bar chart → Check where the axis starts
- A shocking quote from a famous scientist → Find when and where it was said
- "A whole city was evacuated" with no news coverage → If true, what else would be true?
Check yourself
After a quick check you still can't tell whether a post is true. Not sharing it yet is a perfectly reasonable choice.
Show the answer
True
True. "Not sure" is a valid reason to hold off. If it's true and important, it will still be true, and better reported, in an hour. Sharing it with a question mark still spreads it.
Prebunk yourself: the traps you now know
- Repetition makes a claim feel true, even one you've heard debunked (lesson 4).
- Team loyalty makes claims from "our side" easier to swallow (lesson 5).
- Strong emotion speeds up sharing and slows down thinking (lesson 6).
- Knowing the tricks before you meet them makes you harder to fool (the inoculation research from lesson 7).
Lesson recap
- The 30-second check: pause and notice the feeling, name the claim, check the source laterally, see who else reports it.
- The 5-minute check: trace to the original, reverse-search images, check the numbers, name the move, ask what else would be true.
- Every check ends in share, skip, or share with context. "Not sure" is a good reason not to share.
- Fact-checkers can save you time; read how they reached their verdict.
- Repetition, team loyalty and strong emotion are the traps; knowing them in advance makes you harder to fool.
- Check what you share, what you act on, and what makes you feel strongly.