Week 11, Post 2

   Deception in society, while an inevitability, is not unavoidable. Using fact and bias-checking sources on questionable information is a good way to avoid being deceived. For example, sites like Snopes do deep research on important topics and articles and fact-check against their evidence. Bias-checking sites such as All Sides give many other news sources a bias-rating, and have in fact given Snopes a left-leaning bias rating. This doesn't mean Snopes is not to be trusted, however, it does mean that fact-checking sites are not always 100% unbiased. Sites like PolitiFact's truth-o-meter are a good way to see fact-checked smaller bits of information, such as Twitter posts. 

    Avoiding mass deception in news and media is one thing, but avoiding direct deception from a singular person is another. A very common form of deception is through fallacies. Fallacies can be used whether the deceiver knows it or not. However, the only way to thoroughly avoid fallacies is to know them and be aware of what they constitute yourself. Gaining knowledge of the most common fallacies, how they work, and when they are most often used will give you the upper hand in an increasingly deceptive world.