If you only have a few seconds, read these lines:

• Check what you feel when you receive some content. If it makes you feel very happy, extremely sad, or makes you very angry, something is probably wrong.
• Check the url or link where it comes from. If you see that it is not an official website (like those that end in .com or .gov), or has strange words, capital letters or exclamation points: be suspicious.
• Take a screenshot and with it do a reverse search in a search engine, such as Google.

With the popularization of the Internet and smartphones, changes in information consumption models, and the legitimacy crisis of traditional media, we live under the constant attack of false or manipulated content. It is necessary to redefine our relationship with information and technology. It is key to consume online content attentively and there are certain tools that can help prevent you from being deceived. We want citizens to be able to base their decisions on data and evidence rather than rumors and prejudices.

Here we leave you with some tips to avoid falling into misinformation.

• Check out what you feel when you consume content. If content makes you feel very happy, extremely sad, or makes you very angry, something is probably wrong. Misinformation seeks to appeal to your emotions to go viral and make you more likely to share it.
• Check the url or link where it comes from. If you see that it is not an official website (like those that end in .com or .gov), or has strange words, capital letters, or exclamation points: be suspicious. However, there are websites with urls ending in .com that also misinform. Always check with verification services, such as Factchequeado, to know if the content is true or not.
• If the content has an image, take a screenshot and do a reverse search on Google, for example. Here we teach you how to do it. It is easy! Sometimes misinformation spreaders want you to believe that an image is from a date and, in reality, corresponds to a previous moment or a different context. With Google Reverse Images you can identify it.
• Ask questions. If someone shares a video or image with you, ask them: “Where did you see this?” “Do you know the sources?” “Is it humor?” “Did you record that?

This article was produced by our media partner Factchequeado, a media outlet dedicated to fact-checking and building a community of Spanish speakers fighting disinformation in the United States. Would you like to take part? Help us verify the information you receive by sending it to our WhatsApp: +16468736087 or factchequeado.com/whatsapp