Fake News, Manipulation & Misinformation
Learn how to spot viral lies, AI-faked content and emotional manipulation before it hijacks your thoughts, your mood, or your decisions.
📢 Recognising Propaganda
Propaganda is content designed to make you feel first and think later. It often pushes one-sided messages and demands fast reactions.
- Uses extreme words: “outrage”, “they’re evil”, “wake up!”
- Attacks people or groups instead of giving facts.
- Demands you share before checking anything.
- Often tagged with: “Share before it’s deleted!”
🤖 AI-Generated Misinformation
AI tools can now create realistic-looking images, articles, audio and video that never actually happened. The goal is often attention, persuasion or profit.
- Pictures with extra fingers or strange details.
- Voices that don’t match facial expressions.
- Flawless “screenshots” with no source link.
- Content that feels too dramatic to be real.
🎬 Edited Photos & Videos
Edited clips can make something look shocking by cutting out context, zooming in, or changing speed.
- Clips that start or end suddenly around the “drama”.
- Zoomed-in footage that hides the environment.
- Photos edited to change bodies, faces or “evidence”.
- Fake CCTV-style edits designed to create fear.
❤️🔥 Emotional Manipulation
Misinformation targets your emotional “buttons” – fear, anger, disgust, hope or guilt. When someone controls your emotions, they can control your decisions.
- Posts demanding you “prove you care” by sharing.
- Content that humiliates or dehumanises whole groups.
- Stories with no evidence but a strong emotional punch.
- Claims like “the media won’t show you this” without proof.
These scenarios mirror real posts seen in community groups, private chats and news feeds. Practise the habit: Spot → Pause → Verify → Decide.
A post explodes across local Facebook groups:
“⚠️ CHILDREN BEING GRABBED IN TROLLEYS AT SUPERMARKETS. SHARE NOW BEFORE THIS GETS DELETED!!”
No date. No location. No police statement. Just copied text in different groups.
- Share immediately “just in case”.
- Add extra warnings (“they’re targeting our town”).
- Feel terrified going shopping.
- Check the date – is it an old rumour?
- Search police or official news for your area.
- Search the exact wording – does it appear worldwide?
- If there’s no confirmed evidence, do not share.
In a community WhatsApp chat, someone forwards a screenshot:
“Police have said there’s a gang going from street to street tonight – stay indoors and don’t answer the door.”
The screenshot has no name, date or original sender.
- Forward it to every group.
- Cancel plans based on fear, not facts.
- Feel anxious and unsafe at home.
- Check your local police website or official pages.
- Look for dates and time stamps.
- If nothing official appears, treat as unverified.
- Reply calmly: “I’ve checked – there’s no official alert right now.”
A video trends where a well-known public figure appears to make a shocking, offensive statement. Comments are full of anger. People share it with captions like “This is disgusting!”
- React instantly based on the clip alone.
- Share it to attack or defend the person.
- Join arguments without checking if it’s real.
- Search for the full speech on reputable outlets.
- Check if fact-checkers call it a deepfake.
- Watch carefully: do lips match the audio?
- Hold off reacting until you’ve checked several sources.
A friend sends you a Roblox/Discord message saying: “Free Robux/coins if you click this link and share it!”
What’s the safest move?
