A Mother Roo’s Love

Gorgeous closeup of a mother kangaroo with her newborn baby Joey in her pouch.

I found this information on jw/org to be very helpful and I thought I’d post it here. Please check out that website, you will find such helpful things with reliable help from the Bible:

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM MISINFORMATION :

Today, you have access to more information than ever, including the kind that can help you stay safe and healthy. But in your search, you need to beware of misinformation, such as:
Misleading news
False reports
Conspiracy theories

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the secretary-general of the United Nations warned of a dangerous epidemic of misinformation. “Harmful health advice and snake-oil solutions are proliferating,” he stated. “Falsehoods are filling the airwaves. Wild conspiracy theories are infecting the Internet. Hatred is going viral, stigmatising and vilifying people and groups.”

Of course, misinformation is not new. However, the Bible foretold that in our day, “wicked men and impostors [would] advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.” (2 Timothy 3:1, 13) And the Internet now allows us to receive—and unintentionally spread—false news more easily and quickly than ever.

How can you protect yourself from misleading information and conspiracy theories?

.Do not believe everything you see or hear

What the Bible says: “The naive person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.”—Proverbs 14:15.

“Most of the misinformation researchers encounter on social platforms features media that manipulates context, like memes.”—Axios Media.

Ask yourself: ‘Is the content legitimate news or just a meme?’… Evaluate the source and content. What the Bible says: “Make sure of all things.”—1 Thessalonians 5:21.
Before believing or forwarding a story, even one that is popular or repeated in the news, verify that it is true. How?

Evaluate the reliability of the source. News media companies and other organizations may slant a story because of their commercial or political bias. Compare what you see in one news outlet with other sources.

Make sure that the content is current and accurate. Look for dates, verifiable facts, and strong evidence to support what is being said. Be especially cautious if complex information seems to be oversimplified or if the report is designed to evoke an emotional reaction.

“Fact-checking now is probably becoming as important as hand washing.”—Sridhar Dharmapuri, a Senior Food Safety and Nutrition Officer for the U.N.

Ask yourself: ‘Does this news report blur the line between fact and opinion or present only one side of the story?’

What the Bible says: “Whoever trusts in his own heart is stupid.”—Proverbs 28:26.

We tend to trust information that confirms what we want to believe. And Internet companies often customize our news and social media feeds to offer us information based on our interests and browsing history. However, what we like to hear is not always what we need to hear.

“People are capable of being thoughtful and rational, but our wishes, hopes, fears, and motivations often tip the scales to make us more likely to accept something as true if it supports what we want to believe.”—Peter Ditto, social psychologist.

Ask yourself: ‘Do I trust this information just because it is what I want to believe?’

What the Bible says: “You must not spread a report that is not true.”—Exodus 23:1.

Remember that the information you share with others has the power to affect their thoughts and actions. Even if you unintentionally pass on wrong information, the consequences can be harmful.
Ask yourself: ‘Am I sharing this information because I know it is true?’

“Conspiracy theories are playing a bigger role in people’s thinking and behavior possibly than ever,” says Shauna Bowes, a research psychologist. Here is what you need to know about conspiracy theories.

Why are they dangerous? Conspiracy theories can undermine trust in legitimate sources of information, and some can cause people to reject health or safety advice. Such theories can promote prejudice and violence against the group thought to be involved in the conspiracy.

Conspiracy theories increase in popularity during “periods of widespread anxiety, uncertainty, or hardship,” states the Encyclopaedia Britannica, such as “during wars and economic depressions and in the aftermath of natural disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes, and pandemics.” At such unsettling times, people accept conspiracy theories because these theories validate what they believe or help them to understand why bad things happen.