Disrupting False Information and Logical Fallacies For Good

Whether it is the so-called dangers of paying people to donate their plasma, the emotional responses to Policy 713 in New Brunswick, or the recent anti-homelessness bylaw shenanigans in Barrie, my inbox, newsfeed, and conversations in the last month have been especially ripe pickings for examples of misinformation, disinformation, and logical fallacies, personally and professionally. 

I’ve pulled together a few resources to help us spot misinformation, disinformation, and the most common logical fallacies, along with some tips on effective responses to them to help disrupt harmful arguments and campaigns.

False Information
Disinformation is described as “false information that is created and spread, deliberately or otherwise, to harm people, institutions and interests.” It can feed conspiracy theories and incite violence as we have seen numerous times. Misinformation is often used to distinguish the spreading of false information without the intent to harm. 

Mediasmarts.ca is working to fight disinformation by increasing media literacy among Canadians. Their resources include breakthefake.ca, with videos and tip sheets on correcting disinformation. They provide the following three suggestions (also available as a PDF):

1. Ask a question
If the false info is coming from a friend or a family member, or you’re worried that your reply might help spread the false info, you can just ask a question like “Are you sure that’s true?” or “Is that source reliable?”.  

That nudges them to think more about whether what they’re sharing is true and shows other people that you don’t agree with the bad info. 

Research has found this works almost as well as correcting or debunking false information!

If you don’t want to do this where other people can see, you can always send it as a private message.

Try saying:

• “Are you sure that’s true?”
• “Where did you hear that?”
• “Is that source reliable?”
• “I think that might just be an urban legend.”

2. Correct it
You can also correct false information by just giving accurate info on the topic. You might choose this if a lot of people will see what you post, or if you’re worried about making things worse by repeating the false information.

You don’t even have to mention the bad info to correct it, and you don’t have to tell someone they’re wrong. Just share accurate info that shows the truth. [This aligns with what we know about the ineffectiveness of refuting false information by repeating false statements with a ‘no’ in front of it. It doesn’t work. Providing an alternate narrative is more effective.]

Make sure your info is coming from a legitimate, trusted source, and show where it came from.

Remember that less is more! Keep it simple and give just enough to correct the bad info.

Try saying:

• “Health Canada has studied cellphone radiation for years and set guidelines to make sure it stays under safe levels.”
• “Statistics Canada says that the crime rate is a lot lower than it was twenty years ago.”

3. Debunk it
If you can clearly show that the info is false, you can debunk it by saying it’s wrong and showing why. You might choose to do this if the false information has already spread widely or if the person sharing it has a bigger audience than you do.

You can use our fact-checking search engine, bit.ly/fact-search, to find out if something has already been debunked. Or you can visit breakthefake.ca to learn how to check it yourself.

Make sure to say how you found out it was wrong. That way, the person who shared it – and everyone else who sees your post – sees how to avoid sharing bad info.

If you’re replying to someone you don’t know, don’t link to the bad info. Use a screenshot instead. Visit take-a-screenshot.org to find out how to do that on different devices. And make sure you don’t repeat a hashtag that’s being used to spread bad info.

Stick to the facts: keep cool and don’t be rude. Start with “I” so you don’t sound like you’re picking a fight.

Try saying:

• “I checked Snopes and they say that video is fake.”
• “I did a reverse image search and that picture is actually from after a rock concert, not a protest march.”

Remember, you may not convince the person who shared false info, but you can keep others from believing it. There’s always something you can do to help break the fake.

I also found this article about “prebunking” interesting - this is the practice of anticipating methods that may be used to manipulate people and teaching people the tactics so they are less likely to fall for them. 

Logical Fallacies
Wikipedia describes logical fallacy as “the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument which may appear to be a well-reasoned argument if unnoticed.”

The creators at yourlogicalfallacyis.com say, “Logical fallacies are like tricks or illusions of thought, and they're often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people. Don't be fooled! This website has been designed to help you identify and call out dodgy logic wherever it may raise its ugly, incoherent head.

As principled dissenters, we would do well to be familiar with the different types of fallacies so that we avoid using them ourselves and so we are equipped to call them out when we see them used to cause harm.

Some fallacies are trickier than others to spot, but a few that I have seen getting a lot of traction recently are:

Red Herring Fallacy
A red herring is an attempt to shift focus from the debate at hand by introducing an irrelevant point. 

Straw Man Fallacy
A straw man argument is one that argues against a hyperbolic and/or inaccurate version of the opposition rather than their actual argument, to make it easier to attack.

Slippery Slope Fallacy
In a slippery slope fallacy, the arguer claims a specific series of events will follow one starting point, typically with no supporting evidence for this chain of events. 

False Dilemma Fallacy
A false dilemma, also known as a false dichotomy, argues that there are only two options in a situation. Often, these two options are extreme opposites of each other, failing to acknowledge that other, more reasonable options exist.

Anecdotal Fallacy
Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.

There are other lists (examples here and here), but I’ve always enjoyed yourlogicalfallacyis.com as a resource. The creators encourage you to use their link when you see someone “committing a fallacy” online. (Bonus: they have a sister site, yourbias.is, to help you recognize your own cognitive biases.

Do you have other resources that you use to call out disinformation and logical fallacies as you disrupt for good? Please share them below!