Old enough to vote in the Senedd Elections? The internet can get pretty chaotic in the run up to elections. Our campaign will help you spot what’s real and teach you how to fact check your feed so you can make an informed choice.
The power of your vote
In Wales, 16 and 17-year-olds have the legal right to vote in Senedd elections. This gives you a direct say in how Wales is run. It affects everything from health and education to the environment.
The digital world can make it hard to tell the difference between facts, opinions, and fake news. Social media is a place where lots of information is shared. Some of it can be helpful when choosing who to vote for, but some of it can be confusing or misleading.
The Fact Check Your Feed campaign is designed to help you filter the noise, not tell you how to think. Whether you’re watching a video, reading a post, or following a candidate, the final decision is always yours.
We’re providing the tools to help you build the skills needed to identify and challenge the misinformation and disinformation you see online. Our goal is to ensure that you can make a choice that’s right for you at the polling station on May 7th.
Misinformation and disinformation
Misinformation is content that’s misleading and incorrect, but not deliberately so. People spread misinformation in good faith, believing it to be accurate. This might be a friend reposting a rumour about a policy they believe is true. They might not realise something is false, but it still spreads confusion.
Disinformation is content that is deliberately misleading and incorrect. People spread it with the intention to deceive and potentially cause harm. In elections, this can include deepfake videos or fake leaked documents. These kinds of things can trigger an emotional reaction, like anger or disappointment, and it could stop someone from voting altogether.
Make fact-checking a habit
Building a new skill takes time, but you can make it easier by using a trick called habit stacking. This is when you take a habit you already have (like checking your notifications) and ‘stack’ a new, positive habit on top of it.
Instead of trying to remember to fact-check every single thing, try to pair it with your usual scrolling. We’ll be sharing some tips to help you cope with misinformation and disinformation by turning these checks into a natural part of your digital routine.
Tips to verify online content
Trace the source
Always look at who shared the information originally. Look for content from trusted news sources. Be cautious of anonymous accounts or profiles created very recently. Also, check the website address. Fake sites often trick people by using branding and URLs that look almost exactly like other news brands.
Habit stack: When you see a post on socials, quickly tap the profile name to check the date they made the account and follower count before you start reading.
Check the evidence
Reliable posts point toward evidence. This includes links to official Senedd transcripts or data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). If a post makes a big claim without showing its source, it could be misinformation or disinformation.
AI images and videos are common, so make sure you double-check these. Use a reverse image search to see if a photo is being used out of context. For videos, look closely at the person’s mouth or hands. Deepfakes often have subtle glitches or robotic speech patterns that don’t match the real person. If you can’t tell, fact check it with reliable news sources.
Habit stack: Before you share a post, spend 30 seconds on a search engine like Google to see if the “evidence” actually exists.
Note your emotions
Disinformation can trigger strong emotions. If a post makes you feel angry or shocked then you’re more likely to engage with that post, which means you could be helping to share that disinformation further.
If a headline uses all-caps or words like “disgusting” or “evil”, it might be a tactic to influence you negatively. Even if a situation is actually bad, that kind of language could be a sign someone is pushing an opinion on you rather than just giving you the facts.
Habit stack: Every time you feel a negative emotion while scrolling, take one deep breath and ask yourself, “Is this post trying to inform me, or just make me react?”
Look for a consensus
If a big story is true, lots of news sources will report it. Check different websites to see if they agree on the facts. If a scandal only exists on one social media account, be cautious. Use tools like Full Fact or BBC Verify to check the claims. You can also fact check Welsh Government policies on their For The Record blog.
Habit stack: When you see a breaking news story on your FYP, check a reliable news website to see if they are reporting the same thing.
Identify fact vs. opinion
Facts can be proven with data. Opinions are just one person’s interpretation. Remember that parody accounts also exist to make jokes about politics. Always check an account’s bio to see if it’s a joke before taking the information seriously.
Habit stack: Whenever you read a post that sounds too good (or too bad) to be true, make it a habit to tap the account’s profile picture and read the first line of their bio. It might help you to understand the intentions of the poster, for example, whether it’s a joke or an opinion piece, rather than news.
Explore more
Check out our campaign resources to explore more:
- Filter the Fake. Can you tell the difference between fact and misinformation? Play our game to sharpen your skills. – COMING SOON
- What’s Your Scroll Style? Take the vibe check quiz
- 4 Steps to Fact-Check Your Feed – Tips Blog
- Breaking the Echo Chamber – Tips Blog
Check out our social media channels to see our misinformation and disinformation campaign videos:
If you’ve seen something online that has upset you, or you just need to talk to someone, you can always reach out to the Meic helpline. They offer free, confidential support for children and young people under 25 in Wales. Get in touch by phone or WhatsApp message on 080880 23456 or chat to an advisor online at www.meic.cymru.
This campaign is part of the UK wide Informed Voices programme led by Parent Zone and commissioned by Ofcom to build young people’s media literacy and online resilience, in particular young voters. ProMo Cymru, who run TheSprout, are delivering this campaign in Wales.
