how to spot fake news

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Here in the FT newsroom we are gearing up for a year of elections and, perhaps inevitably, all the fake news that is likely to swirl around them.

Hannah Murphy, who covers social media for the FT in San Francisco, has already written about how sites such as X (formerly Twitter) are not ready for the coming wave of AI-enabled mischief, and that fake audio recordings are particularly hard to detect.

But checking information is something the FT does every day, so here are some handy tips from our experts on how to spot misinformation (accidental falsehoods) and disinformation (deliberate lies).

What’s the source?

“You have to develop a certain antenna and a sense of what is out there that is reliable in terms of information,” said Hugh Carnegy, senior editor for quality and accuracy.

“It’s looking for those kind of markers where you can see that organisations take trouble to check the information they’re publishing, and can show you they are honest about the attribution of their stories,” he added.

“Are they telling you where they got the information — who told them stuff? And are they attributing their information to what look like credible and believable sources?”

Spot the AI

Here’s a short video guide, produced by the FT’s Audience Engagement team, on how to spot AI-generated fakes.

Rachel Banning-Lover, the FT’s head of social media and development, said fingers, text and backgrounds are the main things to pay close attention to, but added that on social media “not everything is 100 per cent true, or 100 per cent false”. So it is worth questioning whether the posts you are seeing are exaggerations or unwitting distortions of the truth.

Coming up next week

Many economists believed that sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine would cause a catastrophic contraction of Russia’s economy. Instead, they say, the Kremlin has spent its way out of a recession by evading western attempts to limit its revenues from energy sales and by ramping up defence spending. Has Russia really outsmarted sanctions? Or is it simply storing up problems for later? Watch out for our in-depth read on Russia’s remarkable resilience.

Our favourite pieces

• The FT’s chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, is always compelling reading. This week, he made the case that flagging Western support for Ukraine is morally unpardonable, especially given how little it costs us.
Malcolm Moore (@malcolmmoore)
Editor, FT Edit

• Some headlines stop you in your tracks, and this was one of them. The idea that Alzheimer’s can be passed between humans raises a raft of fascinating — and terrifying — questions.
Hannah Rock
Deputy editor, FT Edit (@HannahRockFT)

Something to listen to

Behind the money — Nuclear power is receiving a lot of attention at the moment. But, in an industry known for its boom and bust cycles, what are the challenges ahead?

Life and Arts — Do you feel bad enjoying too much good food? Our restaurant critic offers a convincing argument for why you shouldn’t.

Untold — Here is part two of our podcast on the dark side of meditation. This week investigative reporter Madison Marriage hears from those who have suffered after going on retreats.

Something to watch

The UK’s rivers are not doing well, with a 2019 study suggesting that only 14 per cent are in good health. A large part of the problem is pollution from agriculture. This FT video looks at what farms are doing to fix the problem.