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That Can’t Be True . . . Can It?

Some wild ideas get passed around the internet. Why do some people trust them? And how do you tell fact from fiction?  

May 2021
by Tod Olson

Shutterstock.com (girl); Illustration by Sean McCabe

AuntSpray/Shutterstock.com

Could Earth be . . . flat?

    In 2016, the rapper B.o.B. decided someone’s been fooling us. 

    For more than 2,000 years, science has been saying Earth is shaped like a ball. But B.o.B. had done some research online. It made him believe that Earth is flat. The North Pole sits in the middle. On the edges, a giant wall of ice keeps the oceans from leaking off the side of the planet. 

    That may sound crazy to you. But millions of people around the world think B.o.B. is right. They’re called “flat-Earthers.” They believe all those pictures of Earth taken from space are fakes. 

    How do they know? If you ask them, chances are they’ll say they saw it on YouTube.

    In 2016, the rapper B.o.B. said that someone has been tricking us. 

    Science says Earth is shaped like a ball. But B.o.B. did some research online. It made him believe that Earth is flat. The North Pole sits in the middle. Giant walls of ice border the edges. The walls keep the oceans from leaking off the side of the planet. 

    That may sound crazy to you. But millions of people think B.o.B. is right. They’re called “flat-Earthers.” They believe that the pictures of Earth taken from space are fakes. 

    How do they know? If you ask them, they’ll probably say they saw it on YouTube.

    In 2016, the rapper B.o.B. decided that someone’s been fooling us. 

    For more than 2,000 years, science has proven that Earth is shaped like a ball. However, B.o.B. had conducted some research online which led him to believe that Earth is flat. He claims that the North Pole sits in the middle and a giant wall of ice around the edges prevents the oceans from leaking off the side of the planet.

    That might sound crazy to you, but millions of people around the world agree with B.o.B. They’re called “flat-Earthers,” and they believe that all those pictures of Earth taken from space are fakes. 

    Why are they so sure? If you ask them, chances are they’ll say they saw it on YouTube.

Spreading Lies

    The internet has made a lot of information available to us. More than 700,000 hours of video are added to YouTube every day. Millions of posts are shared on Instagram and Facebook. Facts spread fast. But so does disinformation—and experts say it’s a growing problem. 

    Why do people spread lies online? Many of them do it to make money. Companies pay to place ads on websites. The companies want to place their ads on websites that get a lot of visitors. 

    One way to get more visitors is to post about crazy ideas: Did aliens land in the desert? Is Bigfoot living in Oregon? These questions make people curious—so they get pulled in. 

    That may not sound like a big deal. After all, believing in aliens or Bigfoot seems pretty harmless. But some lies can cause real damage.

    In January 2020, a doctor in Europe told reporters that 5G cell phone towers might be spreading the coronavirus. They weren’t—but the idea quickly spread online. Soon people were setting fire to 5G towers because they believed it was true.

    We can find a lot of information online. More than 700,000 hours of video are added to YouTube every day. Millions of posts are shared on Instagram and Facebook. Facts spread fast. But so does disinformation. Experts say the spread of lies is a growing problem. 

    Why do people spread lies online? Many of them do it to make money. Companies pay to place ads on websites. The companies want to place their ads on websites that get a lot of visitors. 

    One way to get more visitors is to post crazy ideas: Did aliens land in the desert? Is Bigfoot living in Oregon? These questions make people curious. So they go to the website to check it out. 

    That may not sound like a big deal. But some lies can cause real damage.

    In January 2020, a doctor in Europe said that 5G cell phone towers might be spreading the coronavirus. They weren’t. But the idea quickly spread online. Some people believed it. Some of them set 5G towers on fire.

    Because of the internet, a tremendous amount of information is now available to us. More than 700,000 hours of video are added to YouTube every day, and millions of posts are shared on Instagram and Facebook. Facts spread fast, but so does disinformation—and experts say it’s a growing problem. 

    Why do people spread lies online? Money is a big motivation. Companies pay to place ads on websites, and they want their ads on websites that get a lot of visitors. 

    One way to attract more visitors is to post crazy ideas: Did aliens land in the desert? Is Bigfoot living in Oregon? These questions make people curious—so they click the link. 

    That may sound unimportant—after all, believing in aliens or Bigfoot seems pretty harmless—but some lies can result in real damage.

    In January 2020, a doctor in Europe announced to reporters that 5G cell phone towers might be spreading the coronavirus. They weren’t, of course—but the idea quickly spread online, and soon people were setting fire to 5G towers because they believed it was true.

iStockPhoto/Getty Images

Pop Quiz
This photo of a dolphin soaring in Hurricane Dorian’s winds was popular on social media a couple of years ago. It looks crazy, but is it real?
A. Yes B. No

How We Get Fooled

    You might think it’s easy to spot a lie on the internet. But experts say there are good reasons why we get fooled. 

    First of all, we don’t usually get information from its original source. We get it on social media from friends or famous people. We trust them. So we believe what they say—especially if it confirms something we already think is true.

    Let’s say you read on Instagram that someone you don’t like has been breaking into lockers and stealing stuff. The post came from your best friend. And it fits your view of the alleged thief. You might not stop to ask the important question: Is it true?

    And then you might share your friend’s post. Why? It feels like you’ve been let in on a secret people should know. 

    “If you think you’re the only person who has this information, it’s exciting,” says Aimee Rinehart. She’s an expert who helps fight disinformation. “It’s always fun to be first.”

    You might think you can spot a lie online. But experts say it’s easy to be fooled. 

    Often, we don’t get information from its original source. We get it on social media from friends or famous people. We trust them. So we believe what they say. If it confirms something we already think, then we’re even more likely to believe it.

    For instance, you see a post on Instagram that says someone you don’t like has been breaking into lockers and stealing stuff. The post came from your best friend. And it fits your view of the alleged thief. You might not stop to ask: Is it true?

    And then you might share your friend’s post. Why? It feels like you know a secret. You want other people to know about it. 

    You might think that spotting a lie on the internet is easy. But experts point out that there are good reasons we get fooled. 

    First of all, we don’t usually get information from its original source. We get it on social media from friends or famous people, and we trust them. So we believe what they say—especially if it confirms something we already think is true.

    Let’s say you read on Instagram that someone you don’t like has been breaking into people’s lockers and stealing their belongings. The post came from your best friend, and it fits your view of the alleged thief. You might not stop to consider a very important question: Is it true?

    And then you might share your friend’s post. Why? It feels like you’ve been let in on a secret people should know. 

    “If you think you’re the only person who has this information, it’s exciting,” explains Aimee Rinehart, an expert who helps fight disinformation. “It’s always fun to be first.”

Fact Versus Fiction

    So what can we do to stop the spread of disinformation? Social media companies are starting to crack down on outright lies. Twitter and Facebook have banned some users. They’ve also put labels on posts that may be untrue. 

    But in the end, there’s only one person who decides what’s true and what’s not: you. It may take a little extra work. But at least when you’re done, you won’t end up fooled. 

    So what can we do to stop the spread of disinformation? 

    Social media companies are working to stop outright lies. Twitter and Facebook have banned some users. And they’ve been putting labels on posts that might not be true. 

    But in the end, only you can decide what to believe. It might take more work to find out what’s true. But at least you won’t be fooled.  

    So what can we do to stop the spread of disinformation? Social media companies are starting to crack down on outright lies. Twitter and Facebook have banned some users, and they’ve put labels on posts that may be untrue. 

    But in the end, there’s only one person who decides what you will and won’t believe: you. It might take a little extra work, but at least when you’re done, you won’t end up fooled.

POP QUIZ Answer: B. No! It’s actually a photo from Hurricane Frances in 2004, with a dolphin added.

POP QUIZ Answer: B. No! It’s actually a photo from Hurricane Frances in 2004, with a dolphin added.

POP QUIZ Answer: B. No! It’s actually a photo from Hurricane Frances in 2004, with a dolphin added.

4 Ways to Stop the Spread

Here’s what you can do to fight disinformation on the internet.

Souvik Bhattacharjee/The Noun Project

1- Break the shock-and-share cycle. Studies show that lies spread six times faster than the truth on the internet. That’s because people like to share posts that make them angry or shocked. But here’s the thing: The stuff that shocks you is most likely to be false. So before you share, take a deep breath and wait 30 seconds. Ask yourself: Do I know this is real?

1- Break the shock-and-share cycle. Studies show that lies spread six times faster than the truth on the internet. Why? People like to share posts that make them angry or shocked. But the posts that shock you are most likely to be false. So before you share, take a deep breath. Wait 30 seconds. Ask yourself: Do I know this is real?

1- Break the shock-and-share cycle. Studies show that lies spread six times faster than the truth on the internet. That’s because people get a thrill out of sharing posts that make them angry or shocked. But here’s the thing: The stuff that shocks you is most likely to be false. So before you share, take a deep breath, wait 30 seconds, and then ask yourself: Do I know this is real?

Adrien Coquet, FR /The Noun Project

2- Read beyond the headline. This seems like basic advice, right? But more often than not, people share links without even clicking on them! Don’t be that person. Click the link. Take time to read and understand the story before you pass it on.

2- Read beyond the headline. People often share links without clicking on them! Don’t be that person. Click the link. Read the story. Make sure it’s true before you pass it on.

2- Read beyond the headline. This seems like basic advice, right? But more often than not, people share links without even clicking on them! Don’t be that person. Click the link. Take time to read and understand the story before you pass it along.

Branken, ID/The Noun Project 

3- Find the source. Where did the story first come from? Many news websites don’t do their own reporting. They recycle stories from other sources. And sometimes they change things along the way. So look for words like, “The New York Times reports.” Then google the original story.

3- Find the source. Many news websites don’t do their own reporting. They recycle stories from other sources. And sometimes they change the stories. So look for the source of the story. Then google the original story.

3- Find the source. Where did the story first come from? Many news websites don’t do their own reporting. Instead, they recycle stories from other sources—and sometimes they change things along the way. So look for words like, “The New York Times reports.” Then google the original story.

farias, CL/The Noun Project

4- Who else thinks it’s true? Google the facts and see what other sources think. Do most of them agree? If not, which ones should you trust? Start by asking yourself who would know best. (For example, if you’re looking for the truth about Covid-19, you might want to listen to scientists—not social media stars!) 

4- Who else thinks it’s true? Google the facts. See what other sources think. Do most of them agree? If not, which ones should you trust? Ask yourself who would know best. (For example, are you looking for the truth about Covid-19? You might want to listen to scientists—not social media stars!) 

4- Who else thinks it’s true? Google the facts to learn what other sources say about them. Do most of them agree? If not, which ones should you trust? Start by asking yourself who is the expert. (For example, if you’re seeking facts about Covid-19, you might want to listen to scientists—not social media stars!)

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