The message arrives with a dramatic photograph, a confident caption and an urgent request to pass it on. Before forwarding it, ask a less dramatic question: what would establish that this actually happened, in the place and on the date claimed?
That everyday decision is at the heart of Global Media and Information Literacy Week, observed from October 24 to 31. UNESCO’s 2026 theme, “We All Play a Part,” treats informed reading as a shared responsibility rather than a specialist skill reserved for journalists.
On October 27, UNESCO announced a November 3 hybrid event with Dubrovnik in Croatia and Al Rayyan in Qatar. Local activities run from October 27 to November 3. Its cities initiative aims to bring critical information skills into ordinary community life. The central event is still ahead; the useful habits need not wait.
Start with the claim, not the emotion
Reduce a post to one checkable statement. Who supposedly did what, where and when? A photograph of flooding cannot, on its own, establish that a named town is flooded today. A screenshot of a payment announcement does not prove that every eligible person has received the money.
Check the original publication date and the date of the event separately. A newly shared page can describe an old incident. Read past the headline for qualifications such as “proposed,” “preliminary” or “expected.” Those words can change the meaning of the story.
This distinction also matters in forecasts. Our explanation of what a seasonal weather outlook can and cannot tell readers shows why a probability is not a promise about one city or one day.
Leave the page to investigate the source
Stanford’s Social Media Lab recommends lateral reading: open another tab and investigate what reliable sources say about an unfamiliar publisher or claim. A polished design, impressive logo or reassuring About page is not enough.
Look for identifiable authors, relevant expertise, accessible supporting documents and a visible correction practice. Then compare reporting. Several websites repeating the same press release are several copies, not several independent confirmations. Ask whether another reporter has checked the evidence or merely repeated the wording.
Repetition can make a claim familiar without making it better supported.
Primary sources have limits too. A company can authoritatively announce its own product, but its claims about superiority need separate examination. An institution’s statement establishes what it says; it does not automatically settle a disputed allegation.
Trace the image and keep the context
A reverse-image search can reveal earlier uses of a photograph and help locate its original context. Stanford includes this among its practical verification skills. Search results are leads, however: an absence of matches does not certify authenticity, and the earliest result you find may not be the original upload.
Compare the full image with the shared crop. Look for the original caption, location and date. For a video, seek the complete sequence rather than relying on a short excerpt. Do not identify a person or accuse them of wrongdoing from an uncertain visual resemblance.
For readers moving between Persian and English, check names, units and dates in the original language whenever possible. A translated caption may omit a qualification. A figure in rials is not the same figure in tomans. These are reasons to inspect the evidence, not reasons to distrust every translation.
Make room for an honest “not yet verified”
Nova Southeastern University’s library guidance asks readers to consider currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose. In practice, the amount of checking should match the consequences: a light entertainment claim and an urgent public-safety instruction do not carry the same stakes.
If the evidence remains incomplete, do not turn uncertainty into a confident caption. Save the source link, explain what is established and what remains unknown, or simply wait before sharing. If a correction appears, pass it to the same people who received the original claim.
Being careful is not the same as believing nothing. The goal is to give stronger evidence more weight, to revise a conclusion when warranted and to resist the pressure to sound certain first.
Which check has helped you catch a misleading story? Share your experience in the comment box at the end of this report, below the related stories, on AsiaNews Iran.