I just completed the RMIT Fact Check Cred, a free mini-course that contained a lot more information than I was expecting. I went into it thinking I already knew a lot about fake news and fact checking, so there wasn’t much more that could be expanded upon. I found, however, that although I knew the basics, actually spotting and fact checking stories is a lot more difficult than I suspected. The course itself was very straightforward and I very much enjoyed the step by step quizzes that tested your understanding of what you had just learnt. I liked this style because although you might think the information has gone in, it is not until you are actually asked a direct question about it that it properly sinks in. I particularly enjoyed the photo/video examples, as they were challenging and definitely made me think more about what news I consume and how reliable it is.

 

In fact, this short course made me reflect a lot on my own news consumption habits. While I do consider myself as someone who would never spread fake news, I realised that I may not alway realise what I am reading/watching is the truth. I had always been a bit skeptical of people not realising fake news is fake, but through the examples shown I realised that because of technology fake news has become a lot more sophisticated and therefore it is a lot more difficult to tell fact from fiction.

 

Even in the beginning of the course, when it was discussing the difference between opinions and facts. I found this to be a particularly challenging concept, as sometimes the language used by writers can be confusing so at face value you may not realise it is an opinion piece. This caused me to question articles I have read and believed in the past. Whether I merely agreed with the point of view and that is why I didn’t question it, or whether it actually came from a reputable source. I find myself now doing a lot more questioning of articles and searching for credibility even before I read the opening paragraph.

 

Although I think I will always have my biases when it comes to news (for example I will always trust the ABC more than I will Channel 9 News) I have definitely learnt to look at more critically at the news I consume. Whether it is an article, a picture or a video I find myself constantly asking where it has come from, what are the sources and who is distributing it. I am definitely not a complete fact-checker yet, but I certainly do not just consume my news passively anymore. I really do think this is a positive change, and if more people questioned their news sources like I am now doing, perhaps the spread of misinformation and disinformation would be somewhat stifled.