Truth can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to fact-check

How often do you second-guess the reels and TikToks that populate your FYP?

It started with a TikTok I watched a few days ago.

The guy who made it states that the Harry Potter TV show currently in the works will be a flop because one of the writers hired for the series hasn’t read the books. The writer actually said so on his podcast! Cue the outrage.

It has been obvious from the start that fans want 1) a faithful adaptation and 2) for the show to explore the Wizarding World in more depth than the movies got to.¹ What better way to get engagement than to imply that might not be the case?

Something was fishy, though. Why would the writer go out of his way to say that, given how expansive the fanbase is and how he probably realized his comments would anger it?

That’s where context comes in. Yes, he did say he hasn’t read all the books, but back in February, before it was announced that he was hired for the series. He also goes on to say that while there are many creative ways in which you can expand on the source material, a faithful adaptation is a safe bet.

Also, from what I could find, he doesn’t imply that he NEVER plans to read the books. I’m guessing that since he is now working on the series, a binge-reading session is high on his priority list. Add in the fact that he’s one of multiple writers hired for the show, and it’s ridiculous how much that one comment was blown out of proportion.

I sighed and moved on with my life until today when a friend sent me this reel. It cherry-picks the writer’s comments again, calling them upsetting. This time, the content creator also uses the writer’s musings on the source material being rich in possibilities to point out that fans don’t want that and please don’t do it. Again, cue the outrage in the comments.

As someone who writes for the internet, I understand the urge to package information in a way that will make the most possible people click. You want the views and engagement, even more so when said engagement pays your bills. As a former journalist, though, stuff like this makes me want to gauge out my eyes.

The biggest problem I see here, to be honest, is that none of these two creators are technically lying. The Harry Potter TV writer did say he hasn’t read the books. He did say there are plenty of creative shapes an adaptation can take. You can’t accuse them of making stuff up.

But when you remove context and only present one small tidbit from the whole, you’re manipulating the truth in a way that shouldn’t sit right with the audience.

Unfortunately, that audience becomes less likely to notice with each day.  

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I know because I’ve been guilty of taking things I see on TikTok or reels at face value without independently verifying the facts.

I was fooled by TikToks I thought were for real, only to look at the creators’ accounts and realize they do parodies. I trained the algorithm pretty well, yet I’m still occasionally fed fake news or digitally altered media.

And while I fancy myself to be media-savvy, technology has reached a point where it’s getting increasingly trickier to spot the fake (or selectively truthful) stuff.   

For all my rambling above, I feel bad for not listening to the podcast episode myself to support my claims. I scrolled through episodes on Spotify, couldn’t locate it in approximately 20 seconds, got frustrated, concluded that listening to it was going to take too much time, and settled on linking to a recent article that conveyed the points I wanted to make based on the minimal research I did when I first saw the TikTok.

Not the best approach by a mile, but good enough given that I wanted to send out the newsletter today. If I were still a journalist, I would be ashamed of myself. Considering that I’m writing a newsletter on how it’s detrimental to yourself not to verify information, I find it fitting.

This endeavor also made me think of a quote I read in Alan Rusbridger’s book Breaking News about how bad facts are free and good information is expensive. There were multiple times when I wanted to dive deeper into a subject and be met with a paywall.

I’m not blaming people for wanting to eat. I’m simply pointing out that verifying information takes time and resources. Many of us are short on both.

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Cherry-picking quotes or facts to fit whatever narrative you want to present creates controversy. This boosts views and comments, often at the cost of misleading the audience.

Short-form video is the ideal medium for this because when people read an article, they’re more inclined to open a new tab and Google something that doesn’t sit right with them. When you’re passively scrolling through TikTok and reels, you’re probably lying in bed, looking for a distraction. I’m no expert on human behavior, but what are the chances you’ll exit the app to do research? Worse than scrolling for a fresh dopamine hit.  

Video editing software has improved and become widely accessible. Social media platforms often reward sensationalized content that sparks engagement over more layered takes. We’re overloaded with content, and scrolling through videos without pausing to question them can make us overlook signs of misinformation.

Furthermore, we are vulnerable to confirmation bias, especially since we’re already prone to seeing information aligned with our worldview. We’ve spent all those hours scrolling, liking, and telling the algorithm what we want.

Oh, and as I pointed out above, fake news and digitally altered videos don’t always involve falsehoods. Sometimes, creators take real information and package it in whatever way they think would catch your attention. This makes verifying information confusing, even when you do your best to analyze the content you consume through a more critical lens.

Is this video fake²? You tell me.

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I’m not sure how and whether we can fix the issue. I love social media, and there are plenty of creators out there who do an excellent job at delivering unbiased and nuanced takes on everything from pop culture to actual news.  

I mostly wrote this as a personal reminder to be more selective with the content I consume and remain skeptical of videos that appear suspicious. I urge you to do the same.

Since this started with Harry Potter, we should all take Mad-Eye Moody’s catchphrase to heart. Constant vigilance! It’s the only thing that can prevent us from getting fooled again.

Photo: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

1. This is the point where I should type the mandatory disclaimer that while I like Harry Potter, I don’t support J.K. Rowling’s views.

2. That isn’t the original audio, as far as I can tell.