Fact or opinion? Know the difference in your online research 🤔

Are you feeling overwhelmed by online media? With media content floating freely online, how would you filter the facts from everyone else's opinions?

Figuring out the difference between a fact and an opinion will help you fight misinformation and false beliefs.

To figure out if an online media report is fact or opinion:

• look at the words the authors use

• think about who’s behind the report

• watch for any signs of bias

Let's take a quick step back and define clearly what facts and opinions are.

Fact

• "A fact is a statement that can be proven true or false."

• Facts are often based on research studies or surveys, like a census from the government.

• Example: A Guardian news article with the headline, "Climate depression is real. And it is spreading fast among our youth."

Opinion

• "An opinion is a statement of belief which may or may not be backed up by facts, but cannot be proven true or false."

• Opinions are what someone thinks. They can be found in writing like editorials or opinion pieces.

• Example: The Guardian article's subtitle, "This is a crisis that cannot be solved by ‘positive messaging’. The only thing that will help is action from world leaders."

In the examples above, the article uses real stats to support the headline: "Climate depression is real. And it is spreading fast among our youth."

The headline is based on a survey of 10,000 young people from around the world. It revealed that 77% said “the future is frightening”, 68% feel sad, and 63% feel anxious — data that reinforces the article's opinion that this crisis demands real action from world leaders, not just “positive messaging.”

Sometimes, opinions are disguised or mistaken as facts because of how they're presented. You should watch out for specific words used by the writer. For example, phrases like “critics agree,” or “this proves” can make a personal viewpoint sound like an objective truth.

You can check out this article from Skillswise to learn more about the language of fact and opinion.

The news source seems really credible — but is it really? Traditionally, you can easily check opinion pieces in the Editorial part of a news agency.

However, as more news content, some unverified, is being put online, it's becoming more critical to check the source.

Here are ways to check if the report you're reading is factual:

• Check the date of publication

• Look for supporting sources

• Check the references/citations

• Use sources you know to be authoritative

• Check for bias

• Criticize your sources

To check if an online source is reliable, watch the video below:

We sometimes tend to read news that we want — to confirm what we already believe—and algorithms make this even easier.

Internet echo chambers, also called "filter bubbles", are driven by algorithms that only show you content you've shown interest in. This fuels confirmation bias, our tendency to favor information that matches our preconceptions, and keeps us from encountering different ideas or perspectives.

This puts us in a tricky spot, where personal biases can distort our ability to tell fact from opinion. So, how can you reduce this personal bias?

These tips can help you see things more clearly:

• Check multiple news sources to get more objective information.

• Talk with people who have different perspectives and ideas.

• Remind yourself that "just because you want something to be true doesn’t make it fact."

Remember to always take a moment to reflect on whether what you're reading is a fact or oan pinion.