Did you know that Facebook users who share the most fake news are over age 65?

That’s likely because Boomers need to learn how to discern fact from fiction better. Just because it’s on your friend’s ‘news’ feed doesn’t make it true!

Don’t be duped. Learn how to spot fakes from facts, using the techniques trusted by fact-checkers around the world.

An organization called MediaWise offers courses tailor-made for people over age 65. Their mission is to empower people of all ages to be more critical consumers of content online. They teach people key digital literacy skills to spot misinformation and disinformation so online users can make decisions based on facts, not fiction.

This is just one of a growing number of educational tools aiming to help older Americans identify and reject misinformation, including:

• Fact Tracker interactive videos from AARP
• The News Literacy Project
• Checkology

Paula Span, a New York Times journalist who writes The New Old Age column, covers this and more in a new story worth reading.

Source: Next Avenue
Photo courtesy Pexels

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