Finally got my dad to see the difference between a real source and a blog post.

He used to send me every wild story from some random site called 'TruthSeekers Daily'. I sat him down last Thanksgiving and showed him how to check the 'About' page and look for author names. Now he actually asks 'where did you see that' before he shares stuff. What's the best way you've found to explain source checking to someone who doesn't get it?

3 comments

3 Comments

roberth661mo ago

Actually, the "About" page can be just as fake as the rest. You have to go further. Show him how to follow the links in an article. If a story quotes a study, click through to the actual study and see what it really says. Most of those junk sites just link to other junk sites in a circle. Breaking that chain is what works.

miller.thomas1mo ago

Yeah but grantpatel's tool guy example still helps.

grantpatel1mo ago

Man, I tried explaining this to my uncle once and ended up sounding like I was teaching a college class. He just stared at me like I had three heads. What finally clicked was comparing it to buying tools. You wouldn't buy some no-name wrench from a guy in a van, you'd want to know who made it and if the store is real. It's the same with news. If you can't find who wrote it or where it came from, it's probably that guy in the van.