Information Is Power: Do We Know What We Need to Know?

Yesterday, we began our weekly theme by looking at why information is so important in our lives. We spoke about how having the right information can help us make better decisions, access opportunities and understand what is happening around us.

But today, we need to take the conversation one step further.

Can we actually trust all the information we receive?

We are living in a time when information is incredibly easy to access. You can pick up your phone and within seconds you can see news from across the world, receive a message from a friend, watch a video, read someone’s opinion or ask an artificial intelligence tool a question.

The challenge is that not all of this information is reliable.

Sometimes information is deliberately false. Sometimes it is simply incorrect. Sometimes it may have been true when it was originally published but is now outdated. And sometimes the information itself may be accurate, but it is presented without enough context, giving us a completely different impression.

Think about the messages we receive on WhatsApp.

You may have received a message that begins with something like, “Please share this with everyone you know.” It might contain an important warning, a health claim, a story about something happening in the community or information about a particular service.

Our first reaction might be to forward it, especially if it sounds urgent.

But before we do that, perhaps we should stop and ask: Where did this information come from?

Who originally said it? Is there a reliable source behind it? Is there a date attached to it? Can we find the same information from another trustworthy source?

These are simple questions, but they can make a big difference.

Another problem is that we can sometimes believe something simply because it sounds convincing.

A professional-looking graphic doesn’t necessarily mean the information is correct. A video doesn’t automatically prove that what someone is saying is true. And thousands of likes or shares don’t necessarily mean that something is accurate.

Popularity and truth are two different things.

We also need to be careful about information that confirms what we already believe. If we see something that supports our existing opinions, we may be less likely to question it. But if we see something we disagree with, we may immediately dismiss it.

Being properly informed requires us to do something that can sometimes be difficult: be willing to check information even when it tells us what we want to hear.

This is particularly important when the information could affect someone’s health, finances, safety or important decisions.

And now we have another challenge: artificial intelligence.

AI can produce convincing text, images, audio and video. That doesn’t mean that everything created using AI is false, but it does mean we need to be increasingly careful about assuming that something is genuine simply because it looks or sounds convincing.

So what can the ordinary person do?

We don’t need to become professional fact-checkers. But we can develop a few good habits.

Pause before sharing. Check the source. Look at the date. Read beyond the headline. Compare important claims with reliable sources. And if you’re not sure that something is true, don’t present it to others as a fact.

There is also an important responsibility that comes with having access to so much information.

When we forward a message, repost a video or tell someone something we have heard, we become part of the information chain. We are no longer simply receiving information; we are helping to distribute it.

That means our responsibility doesn’t end with asking, “Is this interesting?”

We should also ask, “Is this accurate? Is it useful? And could sharing it cause unnecessary fear, confusion or harm?”

The goal isn’t to become suspicious of everything we hear. We need information. We depend on journalists, experts, institutions, community organisations and many other sources to keep us informed.

The goal is simply to become more thoughtful consumers of information.

Because information is powerful — but its power depends on its quality.

So as we continue this week’s theme, “Information Is Power: Do We Know What We Need to Know?”, today’s message is simple:

Don’t believe everything you receive, and don’t share everything you believe. Take a moment to check.

In a world where information can travel around the world in seconds, sometimes the most responsible thing we can do is simply pause before we press “forward.”