News Item

How journalists can avoid amplifying misinformation in their stories | Nieman Journalism Lab

When we’re covering misinformation, it can be important to feature visuals.

Visual examples of misinformation — screenshots of posts from social media, for example — can provide evidence for our claims, and make our stories more engaging, memorable and informative.

But there’s a problem. Including images of misinformation can cause harm by amplifying it.

This means two things. First, the misinformation that you feature in a story can reproduce its messages and emotion for your readers, perhaps bringing it to more people than the original post. Given that many bad actors are seeking your coverage, this can further their aims.

[…]

Source: How journalists can avoid amplifying misinformation in their stories » Nieman Journalism Lab