Verify Before You Share
A personal reminder I keep posting for myself: false alarms travel faster than corrections.
What to do
- Pause before resharing screenshots, urgent texts, or “everyone needs to know” posts.
- Check a primary source: official agency pages, reputable local news, or the organization named in the claim.
- If you cannot verify it quickly, wait. Silence is better than amplifying a rumor.
- If you already shared something that turned out wrong, edit or delete and leave a brief correction.
I keep this notice here because I need it as much as anyone. Misinformation does not need malice to spread. It needs speed, emotion, and a lack of friction.
Common patterns I watch for: messages that demand immediate sharing, vague authority (“officials say”), missing dates or locations, and screenshots with no link back to an original source.
You do not need to become an investigator. You need a habit: verify, then share — or do not share. That habit protects the people around you more than any single post.
I use this PSA section for calm, dated notes when something practical needs saying clearly. If you have a correction or a local resource worth adding, use the contact form — I read those.