#FactFriday
A variation on a theme this week - #HowTo #safely #report #facts - i.e. #leak / #whistleblow - to #journalists

First up, an #article which crossed my path today, which prompted the idea https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/how-to-leak-to-a-journalist/

And to add to that some #links for some other available methods (with thanks to @phocks for assistance with finding the links)

#Hushline blog post - https://hushline.app/library/blog/newsrooms-and-journalists/

Contact ( #Australian ) #ABC #ABCTV #Investigations - https://www.abc.net.au/news/confidential-tips/

@randulo
"There are people out there would could make a difference, and the rest of us need to finds ways to help them" - hence my sporadic #FactFriday series when something comes to mind that I can write about with expertise (or studies, or whatever). We don't need "Community Notes" here - we already have people who can do #FactChecks in their area of expertise!

1/6
This week for #FactFriday I want to point out some of the more subtle ways that #misinformation and #disinformation is spread on #blogs and #SocialMedia by people I am dubbing the #Disinformati (the #Illuminati of disinformation ) as a cautionary tale of what to be aware of when on these sites. I have encountered all of this in the realm of #Mathematics #Maths #Math but the take-aways apply equally to all subjects....

1/8
I thought I had run out of false #Mathematics claims to talk about for #MathsMonday, but good ol' human nature I've seen yet more made-up #Maths rules by people not willing to admit they were wrong (which I just happened to write about for #FactFriday last week https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/112654473881719394) - in this case "the #Math order of operations (and other) rules only exist to save us writing brackets". Yeah, nah...

1/6
A while ago, I saw a study which found that, in the absence of knowing the actual rules, people will make up rules to explain observed behaviour. Something happened this week which made me think "I should write about that for #FactFriday this week", but it seems I didn't save the link, and now I can't find it.

But in looking for that article, I did find this one https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds which is kinda similar and quite interesting. In part it mentions #ConfirmationBias...

#FactFriday
A house is meant to be a shelter from the rain for people, not a tax shelter

#FactFriday
This week, SIFT, a way to spot #misinformation
TL;DR
Stop - take a moment to stop and reflect
Investigate - is it a credible source, etc.
Find... better coverage if it still seems questionable after the previous step
Trace - find the original context

With the last, one time I saw a picture which was making certain claims, but when I found the original source it was just the pic itself on Twitter, so everyone who attached a story to it literally made it up!

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240509-the-sift-strategy-a-four-step-method-for-spotting-misinformation

1/5
Previously for #FactFriday I've spoken about how to spot #FakeNews.Today I want to speak about how to spot a #bully online, as today is #DoItForDollyDay (see more about this at https://www.dollysdream.org.au/). i.e. bully's motives are disingenuous - just looking for a target!

The key point is to recognise #bullies ASAP and stop engaging with them. There's no winning a "debate" with one, since they don't actually care about that - they simply want to bully you! There's a saying #DontFeedTheTroll...

#FactFriday: The first @guidedogs was trained in Germany in 1819, revolutionising independence for blind people. Fast-forward 200 years, guide dogs continue to be an integral part of countless lives! #GuideDogs

1/2
#FactFriday
Even when you get a ecard from an actual #friend on your #birthday from a legit birthday card website, it STILL could be from a #scammer - be careful! You could be clicking on a malicious link!

I had such a card recently, and was concerned because as far as I knew, my birthday had never been leaked (we always teach people to be careful about who they tell their birthday to. e.g. don't reply to "try this fun game" which needs your birthday info).

https://it-online.co.za/2023/02/10/new-birthday-phishing-tactic-could-target-900m-people/

1/6
I have a #MathsMonday #FactFriday cross-over event post for you this week

The #fact is that #Mathematics is universal. We may use different notation in different countries, but the underlying #Maths is the same everywhere. i.e. there is nothing "arbitrary" about #Math

I saw someone question if there might be "different" Maths somewhere else in the universe. No. If I have 1 thing, and I get another thing, I now have 2 things. i.e. 1+1=2 (or your country's notation)...

#FactFriday ;-)

To finish first, first you have to finish

1/3
pic from https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/topic-library/articles-and-tips/how-to-spot-fake-news

#FakeNews has been topical lately, so for #FactFriday this week I'd like to give you some quick bullet-points on how to spot it (a real #news story will have most, if not all, of these qualities)
- has a source been quoted
- if so check to see if it's a real news website
- does the story have an author listed. i.e. a byline
- can you find any information about the person in the byline (e.g. most #journalists are on social media)...

1/4
This week for #FactFriday I wanted to tell you about a (unfortunately) little known #Nutrition #WeightLoss #Fact - did you know that #MonoUnsaturatedFattyAcids #MUFA (disappointingly usually just referred to as "good fats") can help you to lose #Belly #Fat #BellyFat? Disclaimer that I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist, but here is a scientific study about it https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17384344/ and I can attest to it having worked for me (2cm reduction in waist-measurement). So how do I know about it? Well...