INTERNATIONAL
SPREADING THE FACTS
Michelle Miller - michelle@thefarmbabe.com
Top Six Ways to Know if What You’re Reading is Factually Accurate In the aerial application industry - or modern farming in general - people have questions. Sometimes they have misperceptions. In a world where misinformation swirls the internet, what are the facts and how do we combat the information that’s not true? We all probably have that one friend or relative that seems to always fall for the latest conspiracy or fake news story - here are some ways to know if what we’re reading is correct or not. • Look up the author. If you’re reading something that makes you feel skeptical, look up their name and their background. If they’re writing an article about animal agriculture, are they a livestock farmer from a small town or are they a vegan animals rights activist from New York City? Understanding their educational background helps a lot to know if they’re knowledgeable
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in their field. You can also Google their name with keywords like “organic” “nonGMO” or “vegan” to see if they’re extremists or tied to food corporations or activist groups with an agenda. • Google it “debunked.” Let’s say you’re reading an article that’s gone somewhat viral. For example, I was reading one that was talking about how wheat is “drenched” in glyphosate and that it’s Roundup - not gluten - causing all sorts of medical issues. The article seemed suspect, so I googled “roundup wheat debunked” and all sorts of articles showed up debunking this fake news story. The original viral article was written by some Mommy blogger with no credible evidence. The articles out there that debunked this story were written by professionals, like wheat farmers, the ➤
