If you find yourself scrolling down your social media feeds and see an article that gets you riled up, you are not alone. But immediately sharing that flashing headline on your page may not be the best idea.

“People are trying to juice the algorithm and get a reaction out of you that makes you share it, like it and then just kind of feel bad about your day,” said Katie Sanders, the editor-in-chief of PolitiFact, a nonprofit fact-checking newsroom.

Speaking on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution podcast Politically Georgia, Sanders said these fake headlines are becoming more common because they cater to a reader’s beliefs.

“People are inclined to believe it because it sort of suits their political leaning,” she said.

Sanders said it’s always a good idea to fact-check something when you know it’s a polarising issue or headline.

“When you see something that is designed to get you feeling a certain way online, whatever platform it is, just jump into your Chrome browser,” she said.

Sanders said some headlines can be easy to fall for when they come from a notable news source. One example she gave was the rumour that Beyoncé would perform at the Democratic National Convention, which was reported by TMZ.

“People were also quoting the TMZ article’s anonymous sources. That’s a red flag,” said Sanders. “That’s why we don’t use them at PolitiFact - because they had anonymous sources that were clearly wrong.”

Sanders encouraged listeners to be a little more sceptical about what they’re seeing on social media and to always take the time to do a quick search.

“I know it’s like a little bit of extra work, but it’s worth it for your peace of mind and your credibility with your friends and family,” she said.

“I think that people need to be more sceptical,” she said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t believe anything, but it means the content needs to work a little bit harder for you to believe it.”

 - TNS