Recognising rumours and misinformation in a crisis

Rumours fill information gaps. In a crisis much is unclear, and uncertainty is hard to bear. Any message that promises an explanation or a warning seems helpful at first. The more important a topic is for your own safety and the less you know for sure, the faster a report spreads.

Most people do not pass on rumours out of malice but out of worry: “Better to warn once too often.” Messengers and social media make forwarding very easy. In the process, it is often lost where a message originally came from, when it was written and which place it referred to. Reports carrying strong feelings – fear, anger, outrage – are shared especially readily.

Official bodies are sometimes slower because they have to check information before publishing it. This delay does not mean that something is being hidden. It is the price for the information being correct in the end.

Some features should make you suspicious: there is no identifiable, responsible source (“A friend of a police officer said …”). The message urges haste (“Forward to everyone now!”). It has no date and no precise location. Or it is a screenshot or voice message from someone you do not know.

Be careful with very dramatic pictures and videos too. In new crises, old footage from completely different events often resurfaces. The same goes for figures without a source and for claims that “the authorities are hiding something” without any evidence given.

None of these features proves that a report is false. But they are a signal to pause briefly and check before you act on it or pass it on.

First: who says this? Is the source identifiable, and is it responsible for the topic – for example the fire service for a fire or the weather service for a storm? Second: when and where? Do date, place and circumstances fit the current situation? Third: is it also reported by official bodies or by several established media outlets?

If you cannot confirm a report, do not forward it. If you want to warn others, point them to the official source rather than copying the text. If someone in your group has shared something false, point it out kindly without showing them up – they usually only wanted to help.

In families or groups a simple division of tasks helps: one person collects and checks information and gives a short update at fixed times. This saves everyone time and reduces unrest. Technical checking of pictures and videos is not covered here; when in doubt, the rule is simply: do not share.

It is best to choose your sources before anything happens: the website of your local council or authority, an official warning app and regional public broadcasting. Which apps and broadcasters these are differs by country – find out about local services. Write the most important sources down on paper too.

During a power cut, internet and mobile networks often fail after a while. A radio with batteries or a crank is then one of the few reliable sources of information. It is worth finding out in advance which frequency the regional station is on.

Checking is important – but not when there is immediate danger to life. If emergency services or an official warning tell you to leave a building or avoid an area, you act first. Where reports conflict, the instructions of the responsible authorities and emergency services on site always take priority over messages from social media or messengers.

Never go to a danger zone yourself to check a rumour. And use emergency numbers only for real emergencies, not for general questions about the situation – otherwise you block the line for people in need. During major events, authorities often set up separate public information lines for questions. In an emergency: the local emergency number, 112 in the EU.