How to Challenge Misinformation

by Dan Nottingham, creator of AmICredible

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it happen. Someone makes a bold claim online, others pile on with “likes” or angry emojis, and before long the statement has taken on a life of its own. It doesn’t matter if it’s accurate, misleading, or flat-out false — once it’s out there, it spreads.

And if you’ve ever tried to step in, you know how it usually goes. You might say, “That’s not true,” or drop a link you found on Google. But that rarely works. People argue, question your sources, accuse you of bias, or double down out of pride. The conversation doesn’t move forward. It just gets louder.

Isn’t that cycle exhausting? No wonder we’re more divided now than ever.

One thing is clear: this problem isn’t going to fix itself. The platforms aren’t going to fix it. It’s up to us, one conversation at a time, to make a change.

Let’s say you see a questionable post online. You believe it’s nonsense, so you instantly fire up a response, calling the person something undesirable, and wait for your equally-heated reply from the poster.

That’s not going to change anything. That only feeds more division. What if you tried a different way?

You see a questionable post online. Instead of gearing up for a battle of opinions, you copy the statement, paste it into AmICredible, and mark it as “External” — meaning it’s not your own. In seconds, the system evaluates the credibility of that claim. You get back a score, a short summary of why, and a list of credible sources that support the analysis. You share that link in a reply with a message that isn’t heated, but is informative, keeping the focus on the statement, not the individual.

That’s the idea behind AmICredible. I’m talking about giving us a way to pause, step out of the shouting match, think critically, and bring the conversation from heated emotions to civilized debates. It prioritizes facts, transparency, and how we say things, because that’s how credibility and trust are built. back to something we can agree on: facts.

While I’m highlighting what we can do, here’s what AmICredible doesn’t do:

• Tell you what to believe or think. That part is up to you. AmICredible informs.
• Limit what you can post. We are 100% free speech. If you still want to post after seeing your analysis, go for it. It’s always your decision what to post.
• Demonstrate bias. We include credible sources with different viewpoints to create an analysis that agrees on the facts. Whether a source leans right, left or center, if a fact  doesn’t show up across multiple different credible sites, it’s not likely to be true.
• Fact check itself. I made sure that AmICredible gives multiple transparent sources so that you get to fact check us. You decide if the result is right for you. If not, you can challenge it.
• Do the thinking for you. This does the opposite, helping you be informed and create better conversations online built around reality, not misinformation.

We don’t have to argue. By sharing that link, you’ve shifted the focus from emotion to fact. Now anyone who reads that claim can also see the evidence behind it, neatly laid out and independent of your personal opinion.

How to Hold Others Accountable for Credibility

For some of us, challenging people online, especially those who are spreading misinformation, can be uncomfortable. When you are backed up by a source of truth, that task becomes a bit easier.

Here’s how each of us can challenge misinformation:

• Don’t ignore the problem. When you see something, do something. Check that statement in AmICredible and share the result.
• Keep the conversation focused on facts, not heated emotions or personal attacks. Say something like “I checked what you said and it looks like it’s not true/misleading. Here’s why.” And, include a link back to your check.
• Respond, but don’t react, to any reply. Encourage respectful discourse and debate by example. Keep the focus on the facts, not the person.
• Share your own credible information and spread awareness about misinformation, so that others can better recognize it before it spreads.

Remember that you may not change other’s opinions, but by simply sharing the truth, you have already helped others identify this post as misinformation.

Why Credibility Matters

Outrage and misinformation thrive in the absence of accountability. When content goes viral simply because it’s sensational, people amplify it. And when there’s no easy way to challenge those statements, they spread unchecked.

Credibility is the combination of what we say and how we say it. We can say something true in a misleading or confusing way, or we can say something false in a very convincing way. To say something credible, it needs to be based on fact and delivered in a compelling way.

When facts are conveyed credibly, the whole tone of the discussion changes. Suddenly, disagreement can be about interpretation or perspective, not about whether the underlying reality even exists. That’s how we get back to more civil conversations — ones grounded in truth, not noise.

I believe that’s how we start changing the conversation online. Not by silencing people, not by winning arguments, but by grounding discussions in evidence and showing that credibility is the common ground we can all stand on.

Because credibility doesn’t start with institutions, governments, or platforms. It starts with each of us — in what we choose to share, how we respond, and the example we set for others.