Instrument Package: Improve your media literacy expertise

Constructing on Inman’s widespread publication for first-year brokers, The Fundamentals, February is New Agent Month. Choose up the instruments, tech and ideas wanted to outlive and thrive in 2025 as a rookie actual property agent.

Instrument Package is a recurring column on Inman that pulls collectively sources for brokers who wish to dive deeper on particular topics or group leaders and brokers on the lookout for academic content material on well timed subjects for trainings.

Woman Scout cookies are poisonous? An Asteroid goes to hit Earth? Actual property brokers can now not receives a commission by customers? As we speak’s headlines and social media fodder are greater than attention-grabbers; they may also be inaccurate, fallacious or deceptive. Dangerous data can impression your snacks, your small business, and, worse but, your future. Yikes!

Each time you open your cellphone, to doom scroll data and promoting is being supplied to you earlier than you may even say, “Wait, is that even true?” And let’s be trustworthy — generally it’s not. With the development of synthetic intelligence, deepfakes and algorithms, one may argue that false data is extra frequent than ever earlier than, which implies it’s extra essential than ever to have the ability to inform the true from the faux. 

Media literacy isn’t only a buzzword; it’s your secret weapon for navigating the chaos of contemporary information, in addition to the distinction between an knowledgeable professional and a rookie with faux information.

Whether or not you’re scrolling social media, flipping by way of the most recent headlines on Inman, or studying a forwarded article from that one relative who nonetheless thinks Fb is a dependable information supply, this information will enable you to confidently inform reality from fiction.

Learn on to study the assorted kinds of articles and uncover determine respected information media platforms, analysis if a “source” is nice, determine an knowledgeable and even fact-check the article you simply learn.

What are you studying? Sorts of articles chances are you’ll be studying

Earlier than we dive into fact-checking instruments and spot scams, let’s begin with a fast vocabulary lesson. Defining what widespread kinds of articles are will assist you determine if this text is written for you or whether it is written for a special viewers. 

Not all information is created equal, and figuring out the variations can prevent from misinformation whiplash. 

Credible media sources try to be unbiased, keep away from favoring one viewpoint over one other, and current data in a balanced approach.

 There are numerous totally different media retailers, and every one has a special normal, type and algorithm. A superb place to begin is knowing the commonest article varieties. 

• Onerous information: That is the intense stuff. Onerous information contains well-sourced, time-sensitive, factual reporting — often by skilled journalists — on the information, reminiscent of politics, world occasions, crime, trade, funds and main developments. Why is tough information essential? It’s the way you keep on high of what’s taking place in your world. It gives credible data on security, economic system and social justice. It’s the spine of journalism — assume Related Press, The New York Instances, and Reuters.
• Opinion/op-ed: That is simply that: an opinion. A author shares their perspective on a subject, which can or will not be backed by stable details. A good opinion piece shall be well-researched and offered logically. Consider it because the opinion part of a newspaper, editorial weblog posts, or that one neighbor who thinks their tackle international politics needs to be required studying. These items may be insightful however shouldn’t be confused with straight information reporting. You’ll be able to typically discover these on private blogs as properly. The place can opinion articles conceal? Suppose Medium, Substack, Reddit, and different locations the place everyone seems to be soapboxing about one thing. 
• Options: These are academic or entertaining deep dives or profiles, typically written in a extra narrative type. These articles typically “myth bust” or clarify a sophisticated topic in (typically, however not all the time in a snack-sized abstract) to assist the viewers acquire consciousness of a selected subject, development or difficulty. They supply background, context and evaluation however are usually not breaking information. If exhausting information is what occurred right this moment, featured information explains why that factor you retain listening to about issues, who’s on both sides of the problem and their factors of view. Options are additionally locations the place you may study some nice methods and self-help strategies to assist enhance your life and enterprise.
• Service: When newspapers had been extra prevalent, this was sometimes called “refrigerator journalism” as a result of a majority of these articles are those you may clip out from the paper and save in your fridge for later. Suppose how-tos, guides, listicles, timelines, explainers and different much less narrative-focused content material. These tales are crafted that will help you higher your life, whether or not private or skilled. At Inman, our contributors deal with service journalism and opinion items. These tales are sometimes written by specialists who share information, insights and robust takeaways.
• Sponsored/advertorial content material: In the event you’ve ever seen an article that appears like information however subtly (or not so subtly) promotes a product, congratulations! You’ve encountered sponsored or advertorial content material. Sponsored content material will not be unusual, in actual fact it has continued to realize reputation amongst promoting corporations and is an everyday characteristic on even massive information community applications just like the the TODAY present. These items are principally commercials wearing information or service article clothes. What you must know is that they’re paid placements. At all times verify for disclaimers like “Sponsored Content” or “Paid Partnership” earlier than assuming unbiased reporting. Many individuals know to look on engines like google for notifications of sponsorships, however these may be harder to determine within the formatting of how articles are offered. Search for notifications on the high and backside of the article.

But it surely appears so actual! 

Simply because one thing has 1000’s of shares doesn’t make it true. Additionally, simply because somebody shared one thing in a personal Fb group about actual property contracts doesn’t make them your dealer or a lawyer. ( you, random social media conspiracy poster who stirs up all of the drama in teams on-line.) 

How do you confirm that what you’re studying is legit? There are particular issues to verify for, and bear in mind it’s essential to not be lazy in relation to ensuring one thing is correct earlier than you unfold it and trigger potential repute hurt to somebody’s enterprise or private life. 

Test it out

As an train, try this latest headline that got here throughout my feed:

“Asteroid’s odds of hitting Earth go up as Webb telescope is tasked with studying potential ‘city-killer’”

Now, let’s undergo the steps of vetting the legitimacy of the piece.

• Supply it: Who revealed this? Dependable sources embrace established information organizations with a repute for fact-checking, reminiscent of NPR, BBC, The New York Instances, or The Wall Avenue Journal. If the article is from “TruthAmericaFirstDaily.biz” — proceed with warning. Sadly, many of those fake media websites attempt to pull actual articles that actual specialists have written and manipulate them to learn their private objectives.
• Search for a number of sources: If just one obscure web site is reporting a serious occasion, that’s a pink flag. Actual information will get picked up by a number of retailers.
• Confirm the creator: Is the author a journalist or knowledgeable on what they’re writing about, or are they only somebody with an web connection and a robust opinion? A fast Google search can reveal credibility. Earlier than I settle for that somebody is an actual property knowledgeable, coach, mentor, guru, video or social media magician, I really verify to verify they’ve bought a home and check out their social media. The proof is usually within the pudding. 
• Examine the date: Outdated information will get recycled as new information on a regular basis, significantly on social media. That is very true with actual property old-school enterprise apply jargon. A few of the knowledge high coaches are yelling at you on social media is many years previous. Why? As a result of the identical music and dance works more often than not, and only a few folks verify or ask for knowledge to again up what they are saying. They simply take it as reality. Simply because an article goes viral right this moment doesn’t imply it’s latest, related or occasion true.
• Look ahead to emotional manipulation: This can be a massive pink flag. There’s a distinction between catching your consideration and “click bait”

If a headline is designed to make you offended or scared fairly than knowledgeable, take a step again. Dependable information informs, not inflames. Additionally, be careful for multilayered pop-ups and different issues that point out that the story might be a rip-off and never dependable and knowledgeable information on a reputable website.

Within the case of the asteroid headline, the story got here from CBS, however studying the knowledge additional, I found that, whereas the data was true, they’d pulled probably the most alarming data from the NASA James Internet Area Telescope research, and that the possibilities of this taking place in 7-8 years is simply about 2 %.

FYI, utilizing the helpful dandy Snopes website, I used to be in a position to debunk that Woman Scout Cookies are, in actual fact, suitable for eating and which you could proceed to assist your favourite cookie seller with out worrying that you’re being poisoned. 

The way to fact-check and acknowledge a faux

In the event you ever really feel such as you’re being bamboozled, these websites could have your again and assist you determine the superb line between reality, fiction and opinion — which is usually more durable than chances are you’ll assume! 

• Reality-checking web sites: Snopes, FactCheck.org, and OpenSecrets.org assist confirm whether or not one thing is true or simply web rubbish your third cousin shared.
• Bias checker web sites: AllSides and Media Bias/Reality Examine allow you to see the place totally different information sources lean politically, serving to you get a extra balanced view.  Media bias is essential to grasp; an amazing instrument or chart to reference is the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart. This interactive chart exhibits in actual time a scaled-out evaluation of how the media platform presents data to customers. Under is what it appeared like on the time this text revealed:

The wild west of misinformation: Due to AI and social media

Social media platforms are sizzling and sweaty breeding grounds for misinformation. What’s even worse is that there are such a lot of instruments for each writing, movies, graphics, and so forth., that algorithms push partaking content material (learn: typically deceptive), and misinformation spreads quick.

Right here’s keep forward:

• Everybody has shared it: If one thing is being shared or has gone “viral” at warp velocity, double-check it earlier than believing it.
• Learn the feedback: Typically, I virtually journey operating to the feedback, which means that it often will not be from supply or it has probability of being faux. Shoppers are sensible, and if it’s not proper, it will likely be mentioned within the feedback.
• AI-generated content material: Deepfakes and AI can now simply take over identities, voices and so many different issues. It’s the Wild West, and what you see is usually not true or manipulated. This refined platform is studying at a fast tempo, and the content material it creates is increasingly lifelike and human-like. Be sure to double-check that the content material is actual by looking a number of totally different sources.

Comply with the cash, and you’ll discover information scams

Pretend information isn’t simply deceptive — it may be a rip-off. Hackers know that information and data are nice methods to gather knowledge. Though it was extra apparent to suss out nefarious intent, now the scams look actual. They’ll even mimic actual newspapers and different media sources.

Please don’t click on it if:

It appears like clickbait

I as soon as clicked on an article titled, “Julia Roberts’ Daughter Turns 16 And Is Her Replica.” In the event you click on by way of the 40-plus slideshow pics (with 1,000,000 pop-ups), you’ll uncover that Roberts nor her offspring are pictured. In the event you search for what her daughter really appears like, you’ll notice that the 2 photos on the article’s cowl are two photoshopped pics of Roberts fairly than a photograph of her and her daughter.

That is the right instance of clickbait. If a headline may ship you down a faux information rabbit gap, it’s most likely clickbait. Celebrities and trending personalities are sometimes used as a result of folks wish to know. The common client’s consideration span is between 3-9 seconds, and that’s not numerous time for media retailers to seize your consideration. Writing headlines is an artwork kind that’s typically constrained by character depend and a lesson in psychology. Headlines from respected organizations will usually lower to the story’s core however ship on their guarantees.   

It smells like phishing

These are scammy websites that steal your data while you click on on them. The names of the information supply could also be off or the e-mail might seem like it’s from Fb. Have a look at the place the article got here from, that could be a good indication.

Looks as if donation for a tragic story

Some folks love to assist, and many people have seen the facility of a profitable GoFundMe marketing campaign for a household in want. Sadly, after pure disasters, scammers create faux information tales to get folks to donate to fraudulent causes. At all times make your donations on the host websites to learn the trigger.

Oops, I did it once more: What to do you probably have shared faux information

Don’t panic. Comply with my surefire, “Stop, Drop, and Roll” method to remain out of sizzling water on-line.

1. Cease: Delete the story from all social media websites you shared it on.
2. Drop: Drop the brand new hyperlink to the fitting story and be sure to confirm it.
3. Roll: Preserve going together with your day, and bear in mind to encourage your self and others to not share misinformation or faux information.

Misinformation is like glitter — it spreads quick and is tough to wash up. Don’t trouble arguing with trolls, associates and family members who share misinformation continuously. 

Usually, it is rather troublesome to separate folks from their love of faux information. As an alternative, you may encourage them with right tales, conceal them out of your feeds so that you don’t must see it, and block them from having the ability to remark in your feeds and posts. I name this the “knuckle head clause”; if Uncle Bob can’t say one thing good, then he doesn’t have to say something in any respect with you connected to it.  

Misinformation can mismanage your day and mess up your small business

Understanding what you might be studying, why you might be studying it, and why it was written will enable you to stage up your “game” by figuring out actual information and actual happenings and the perfect sources that will help you learn to be a greater agent, human and neighborhood member.

The media will get a foul rap 99 % of the time, however the hard-working journalists who cling to moral journalistic practices maintain leaders accountable, demand transparency, present schooling and consciousness, and share social injustice data. 

The reality is on the market, my associates. It’s as much as you to take the time to do the analysis and discover it.

Rachael Hite is a seasoned housing counselor and thought chief in the true property trade, identified for her intensive experience throughout enterprise information journalism, retirement housing, and reasonably priced housing initiatives. Join with Rachael on Instagram and Linkedin.