In recent articles, Media Trends and Influencer Marketing you read about sharing posts of influencers and even recruiting them to be a brand ambassador. The inherent risk of this approach is sharing or standing behind a topic that turns out to be politically incorrect, or just plain incorrect. This could create a negative backlash, destroying your efforts.
Google has just announced a helpful set of tools that you can use to fact-check before you share. For the example, I will use the first example in the Google Blog article: Does garlic help with Covid-19 recovery? You care about health! Your followers care about health. Why not share the post you saw? First, find out if it is correct.
- Do a Search. The search results list may answer your question immediately. The first listing was a paid ad with a tab labeled Myth Busters, telling me that I need to check this.
- Check the Source. The first (non-paid) listing was for WebMD. By clicking the three dots by their name in the listing, I see information about the source, helping me to determine if I trust their content.
- Search the Image. If you are not sure if an image is real or applies to this post, try right-clicking on a photo and choosing “search Google for image” from the popup menu. Seeing where else the image has been used, and when it first appeared by clear up any confusion.
- Look at multiple news sources. Google search has a “news” option. This will show you the same topic covered by multiple media outlets.
- Verify locations using Google Maps, Earth, or Street View
- Use a Fact Checker like Fact Check Explorer or Snopes.com.
So, before you share the post about the alligator in the sewer, spend a few minutes using these tools to avoid embarrassment.
