Table of Contents
- 1 How is social media revolutionizing real time information?
- 2 How can a business determine if information gathered from social media is reliable?
- 3 How do you determine whether a source is dependable or not?
- 4 How do you know if the information obtained on the Internet is reliable or not?
- 5 How do you evaluate information on social media?
- 6 How do you know if information is accurate?
Social Media allows journalists and news sources to get details about the incident as it happens and from a lot of different points of view. It also allows news sources and journalists to get a hold of first hand viewers of the incident quicker for comment and details around the story.
Here are some items to consider that can help determine authenticity:
- Location of the poster – are they in the place they are tweeting or posting about?
- Network – who is in their network and who follows them?
- Content – Can the information be corroborated from other sources?
How should we evaluate the content from online and social media posts?
The Five Step Social Media Evaluation
- Check In: How many social channels are you using?
- Check In: Write down how often you are posting on each network you’re using for your business.
- Check In: Examine 10 of your recent posts.
- Check In: Look at your post reach on Facebook and see how many fans you’re reaching.
How do you determine whether a source is dependable or not?
The criteria are:
- Currency: Timeliness of the information.
- Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs.
- Authority: Source of the information.
- Accuracy: Truthfulness and correctness of the information.
- Purpose: Reason the information exists.
How do you know if the information obtained on the Internet is reliable or not?
With that in mind, here are eight ways to tell if a website is reliable.
- Look for Established Institutions.
- Look for Sites with Expertise.
- Steer Clear of Commercial Sites.
- Beware of Bias.
- Check the Date.
- Consider the Site’s Look.
- Avoid Anonymous Authors.
- Check the Links.
How do you know the information messages you read and review is reliable?
In general, information published by the government is both current and based on reliable research, even if no one author is listed. In general, print publications with authors and listed sources tend to be reliable because they provide sources which readers can verify.
Evaluating Social Media
- Location of the source – Are they in the place they are tweeting or posting about?
- Network – Who is in their network and who follows them?
- Content – Are other reputable sources posting about the same thing?
- Contextual updates – Do they usually post or tweet on this topic?
How do you know if information is accurate?
When considering accuracy, ask yourself the following questions:
- Has the source been edited or peer-reviewed?
- Has the author supplied a list of references for their work?
- Is the information provided verifiable?
- Is the language or tone opinion based or does it contain facts and statistics?