There is an old saying in journalism, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”

In other words, a healthy skepticism can be a good thing, and in the face of rampant misinformation from activist groups, foreign governments and others who wish our nation ill, a habit of checking things out for ourselves can go a long way in cutting down on the impact of false information.

In the 72 days left until tens of millions of Americans cast their votes in the 2024 presidential election, misinformation, disinformation and flat out lies will permeate practically every corner of our lives. The rest of the world is watching to see who will be the next leader of the free world, and some have already decided to tip the odds in their favor.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a Russian state-run news agency, along with its federal security service, used artificial intelligence to spawn hundreds of fake, disinformation spouting social media accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Less than a week ago, the FBI announced it has identified Iran as the culprit behind a hack of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and an attempted hack of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.

U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly highlighted initiatives by Russia, Iran and China that are intended to sow discord and interfere with our elections.

This year’s election poses an especially unique twist to misinformation as recent advances in AI open the door for so called “deep fakes,” which are computer generated video and audio clips, photos and other media that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

The simple truth is fake news is out there, and there isn’t a lot we can do to stop it. There are, however, steps we can take to spot the fake stories and limit their reach.

According to Cornell University, the first step in identifying fake news is to look at the organization that published it. Investigate the organization’s mission and think how its goals may influence the type of news it puts out.

Step two is to look for supporting sources. Many online news outlets link information, which shows up as highlighted and underlined blue text. For those that don’t, typing the information into a search engine such as Google or Bing can often bring up articles from other news outlets and fact checking organizations either supporting or debunking the claim.

Cornell also encourages people to check the publication date as old stories, photos and video can gain new attention years later or be claimed as new content to suit a narrative.

As you scroll through social media, browse headlines or watch the news over the coming weeks, keep an eye out for those claims that just don’t sit right or news articles that seem off. Trust your intuition, trust what you know to be true. Everything else, check it out.