Last weekend, the online buzz was that something bad had happened to US President Donald Trump.

Trump, who usually has numerous public appearances each week, went several days without one. Then a mysterious press conference appeared on his agenda for Tuesday—creating speculation that the president was in severe bad health and that a major announcement would be made during this press event.

As it turns out, Trump was just fine and the press conference was to announce the relocation of Space Force headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama.

But the way totally unfounded rumors caught on and created such drastic conclusions is indicative of how false information gets out online and spreads like wildfire. How many times do we see and hear something that appears to be verified—only to find out later that this was nothing but speculation and supposition, and the truth was actually quite different.

The New York Times was caught up in one of these incidents recently. They posted a front-page picture of an emaciated child from Gaza, as an example of the severe famine supposedly being inflicted on Gazans by Israel.

As it turns out, that child has a neuromuscular disease that results in his body wasting away—regardless of how much food he’s been given. And, on top of that, Israel had med-evac’ed the child and his mother to Italy for proper treatment months before. Israeli sources countered with a picture of an emaciated hostage being fed crumbs from a very well-nurtured captor, though that picture didn’t make the front page of any publication.

Many of the photos we see online today are obviously AI generated. There will be a man or woman with more than 2 arms, a dog or cat with two heads, or a body that appears to have passed unharmed through a solid object, like a wall or window.

Yet, these photos often lead to a feeding frenzy, where “influencers” and the media rush to report what they’ve seen. Then other outlets pick up on those reports and magnify the problem.

The New York Times did post a retraction about their front-page error. But it appeared buried deep in the publication, late in the day on a weekend, where it was unlikely to be seen by more than a handful of people.

How do we avoid getting caught up in this? Maintain a healthy level of skepticism. Check multiple sources that don’t feed on each other as a source. If something sounds a little too strange to be true (as with the Trump rumor), chances are it’s probably not. Do your own research into current events.

And remember how the internet works: Just because you see something multiple times doesn’t mean it’s true. Caveat emptor.

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