To combat fake news, just use ‘DATS CRAP’
LAST Friday, I was invited by the Institute of Internal Auditors of the Philippines to deliver a talk on how to weed out “fake news” for their 70th Annual Convention in Panglao, Bohol.
Apparently, even false stories have permeated through this sector and is now threatening to affect the conduct of their business.
First of all, what is fake news? The
A – Author
Who created the content? This will reveal whether or not “news” can be trusted. While mainstream media still has its occasional faults in reporting, they remain the best bet in credible content. If the author ( the website itself or the one who created the content) seems to have been created overnight, then you better exercise caution.
T – Timing
Fake news often pops out in droves following a huge event. How many false stories got circulated during the “Marawi Crisis?” How about during the recent typhoons? Remember, people are mostly governed by emotions and during big events or crises, our decision-making gets muddled. So make sure to have a critical eye all the time when looking at content online.
S - Spelling
Real news is seldom misspelled. Of course, no one’s perfect but big newspapers have an entire process of vetting and proofreading that lessens the risk of misspelling words.
sites do not have this luxury and will often make obvious mitsakes. Be on the look out for those.
C – Crazy
Is the headline too outrageous to be true? If so, it most likely is. Those, WTF headlines are meant as clickbaits. Don’t fall for them.
R – Reliability
Where did you get your news? Was it shared by a known purveyor of fake news? Why do you still trust them…or “HER?” As the saying goes, “Shame on you if you fool me one, shame on me if you fool me twice.” Remember that.
A – Accuracy
Did the headline say, “Ilocos Norte” but the image on the article is “Ilocos Sur?” Did it say, Marawi
picture of a soldier during the Vietnam War? Accuracy is a News Value that is upheld by many real journalists. Fake news proponents just don’t care. For them it’s a classic (tomato) TO-MAY-TO, TO-MAH-TO argument.
P – Purpose
News is meant to inform and empower not to persuade and cover up. When you feel like the content is trying hard to convince you to believe a certain truth or reality, it most likely cannot be trusted.
This simple mnemonic is meant to
whether something is real or not. When in doubt, just pause for a while, read the content thoroughly, try to understand it, and then shout out: “DATS CRAP!”
(SpecialthankstotheIIAPespecially toitsconventionpresident,JosephIan Canlas;SGVAdvisorypartnerRyan Chua;SeniorDirectorMaydayCypres; andSirJunRavaloforinvitingand takingcareofmeinPanglao,Bohol.I alwaysthoughtaccountantsandjournalists accountantslovespreadsheets,while wejournalistspreferbroadsheets.ButI discoveredacommongroundbetween us:accountantsandjournalistsboth hate“bullsheet.”)