Ahead of the General Election on 29 November, EDMO Ireland and Media Literacy Ireland are promoting a Be Election Smart campaign. The campaign highlights practical tips to be mindful of when navigating news, commentary, and advertising about the election.

For more resources on media literacy and elections, see Media Literacy Ireland’s election page.

Tip #1 Read beyond the headline

Reading beyond the headline is essential because headlines are designed to capture your attention. That’s why they often oversimplify, distort, or omit crucial details about the story. You need to read the full article to understand the context including potential bias by the author and subtle cues about intent and the reliability of the sources. Read more about misleading headlines here.

Tip #1 Léigh níos mó ná an ceannlíne 

Tá an saol casta, agus tá polaitíocht casta chomh maith. Tá ceannlínte scríofa ar bhealach chun d’aird a tharraingt, ach ní thugann an ceannlíne an scéal ar fad agus ní féidir le teachtaireacht gairid ar na meáin soisialta é seo a dhéanamh ach an oiread. Má shíleann tú nach bhfuil sé fíor, tá seans ann go bhfuil an ceart agat. Dá bhrí sin, ná léigh an ceannlíne amháin – léigh an scéal ar fad. Cuireann ceannlínte de shaghas ‘clicmhealladh’ daoine amú d’aon ghnó. Déantar é seo  chun mothucháin láidire a chothú i ndaoine chun gur mian leo na teachtaireachtaí seo a roinnt.

Tip #2 Look for the whole picture 

Visual communication is powerful and appealing because our brains are highly adapted to process and interpret visual information quickly and intuitively. But images can be highly deceptive and, in the context of news and election, images can distort our perceptions of people and issues. It only takes a few clicks to change or enhance visual content, but distortion can occur without even doctoring an image. It’s important to remember that visual communication is always the result of choices: choices about what to show and how to crop or frame the image. Read more about misleading visual communication here.

Tip #2 Lorg an scéal iomlán

Tá sé an-éasca ábhair a aistriú nó a threisiú go digiteach chun teachtaireachtaí nó scéal iomlán diffriúil a chur ar fáil. Má fheiceann tú fís nó má chloiseann tú taifeadadh do phearsa poiblí ag rá rud éigin dochreidte, bí ar an eolas go mb’fhéidir nach bhfuil sé fíor. Is féidir le teicneolaíocht AI físeanna ní íomhánna a chothú atá cuma orthu go bhfuil fíor daoine iontu, ach tá siad go hiomlán bréagach. Tá físeanna domhainbhrionnú nó ‘deepfake’ san áireamh anseo. Tá sé an-deacair deepfake le fuaim amháin a dheimhniú nó a chinntiú. Breathnaigh go cruinn ar íomhánna nó físeanna ar líne, ach go háirithe má mhusclaíonn siad mothúcháin láidire ionat.

Tip #3 Look beyond engagement metrics

Engagement metrics – such as likes, shares, comments, or views – are not reliable indicators of content quality. Social media and messaging applications make it really easy to share information quickly to large groups of people. In addition, AI-powered technology can also be used to create fake profiles and promote false or inaccurate content, making it go viral with very little authentic sharing. Read more.

Tip #3 Díreach toisc go bhfuil sé mearscaipthe, ní hionann go bhfuil sé fíor

Tá sé an-éasca eolas a roinnt le grúpa mór daoine ar na meáin soisialta nó ar na haipeanna teachtaireachtaí. Chomh maith le sin, le teicneolaíocht cumhachtaithe ag AI, is féidir cuntaisí bréagacha a chothú agus iad seo a usáid chun ábhair bréagach nó míchruinn a roinnt. Is é an fheidhm atá acu ná an dífháisnéis seo a bheith mearscaipthe, gan mórán roinnt iontaofa.

Tip #4 Compare information sources

If a piece of information is only being reported from one source or one media type, it might not be the whole story. Ask yourself who produced it, why, and how it has reached you? Comparing sources allows you to see the bigger picture and make more informed decisions. When you read multiple accounts of the same story, you can identify patterns in what is included or omitted. For instance, a political event might be framed positively by one outlet and negatively by another. Comparing these helps you separate opinion from fact. Verifying facts across different sources increases your confidence in their accuracy. If multiple reputable outlets report the same data, it’s more likely to be reliable than information found in only one place. Read more here.

Tip #4 Lorg d’eolas ó níos mó ná foinse amháin

Má tá tuairisc nuachta craolta ó fhoinse amháin nó ar mheán amháin, b’fhéidir nach an scéal ar fad atá i gceist. Cur ceist ort féin – cé a scríobh é seo, cén fáth agus conas ar tháinig tú air? Bíonn rialacha eagarthóireachta diffriúla i gceist thar na meáin diffriúla. Go ginearálta, bíonn níos mó seiceanna ag teastáil d’eolas atá craolta nó foilsithe I gcomparáid le heolas atá ar an idirlíon.

Tip #5 Don’t share until you verify it is true

The final days before an election are prime time for dubious information. A last-minute falsehood leaves little time for journalists and fact-checkers to respond. Even if it is debunked quickly, the confusion can shift the narrative around candidates and parties. We all have a critical responsibility to check if information is true before we share it. Read more here.