The Guardian: “Feeling overwhelmed by divisive opinions, endless rows and unreliable facts?…sadly we can expect this to get worse before it gets better. But there are tools and techniques we can use in the current information crisis. There are ways we can be better equipped to deal with the era we find ourselves in…Here’s how to weather the data storm..”

• 1 Find a fact-checker you trust – Just as after the print revolution in early modern Europe, it is now massively easier to access scientific information. In a few seconds I can find a video clearly explaining particle physics, chemical bonds or how vaccines work. And at the same time, it is also extremely easy to find very plausible-looking information that is completely false about how vaccines are actually terrible and suggesting solutions that I really don’t even want to write down here. But unlike people living through the print revolution, we have sophisticated and trusted information-dispersal networks that are still fairly robust. The BBC has a good fact-checking service. Snopes and PolitiFact are good. There are others, and it’s worth getting familiar with them. Fact-checking is a specialised skill, though, and it is becoming more challenging as the fakes get ever more convincing…”