Spotting fake news and misinformation
4 min readReviewed October 2026 · Internet Safety Australia Editorial Team
In short
- Strong emotion is the tell: outrage and fear are how false stories travel.
- Don’t read more of the page — open a new tab and check what others say about the claim.
- If you didn’t verify it, don’t share it.
The SIFT habit (30 seconds per story)
Stop
Notice your reaction. Designed-to-go-viral stories aim at your emotions. A spike of outrage or fear is your cue to check, not share.
Investigate the source
Don’t read the site’s “about” page — open a new tab and search the outlet’s name. What do others say about it? Unknown “news” sites with plausible names are a standard misinformation costume.
Find better coverage
Search the claim itself. If a real event happened, ABC, SBS, AAP or other established outlets cover it. One site alone with an explosive claim is a red flag.
Trace it back
Quotes, images and stats get ripped from context. Find the original: reverse image search photos; look for the full interview, not the clipped screenshot.
Australian fact-checkers worth bookmarking
AAP FactCheck, RMIT FactLab, ABC Verify, and AFP Fact Check regularly debunk viral Australian misinformation. Scamwatch covers the scam-shaped subset. When family shares something doubtful, these give you a neutral third party to point to.
Common questions
Official sources for this guide
Reviewed October 2026 by Internet Safety Australia Editorial Team. Internet Safety Australia is independent and not a government website.