#factfriday — Public Fediverse posts

@citc
"In case unaware, we are in a "post-truth"/"my truth" nonsensical world of "the alternative fact(s)" - welcome to my #FactFriday and #MathsMonday series to correct that, as well as the odd observation here and there on other matters, as above

"Then they scroll on" - well, speak for yourself. I still have the odd thing here and there that I posted months or years ago getting liked/boosted again by people discovering it for the first time. Turns out people like facts and truth-tellers

@citc
"In case unaware, we are in a "post-truth"/"my truth" nonsensical world of "the alternative fact(s)" - welcome to my #FactFriday and #MathsMonday series to correct that, as well as the odd observation here and there on other matters, as above

"Then they scroll on" - well, speak for yourself. I still have the odd thing here and there that I posted months or years ago getting liked/boosted again by people discovering it for the first time. Turns out people like facts and truth-tellers

5/6
I have seen a #Gaslighter try to claim this textbook said that we ALWAYS do division first - i.e. even before multiplication - and that we thus ALWAYS put brackets around it, which in fact we NEVER do. Of course, he didn't post a screenshot like I have, he simply quoted "30÷10x3=(30÷10)x3" and gave the reference, and expected people to just believe him, having just given a reference for his false claim.

Of course, I have written previously at https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/111106983604289078 for #FactFriday...

5/6
I have seen a #Gaslighter try to claim this textbook said that we ALWAYS do division first - i.e. even before multiplication - and that we thus ALWAYS put brackets around it, which in fact we NEVER do. Of course, he didn't post a screenshot like I have, he simply quoted "30÷10x3=(30÷10)x3" and gave the reference, and expected people to just believe him, having just given a reference for his false claim.

Of course, I have written previously at https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/111106983604289078 for #FactFriday...

#FactFriday
An unwalled version of a walled article that originally appeared in Rolling Stone (not happy that Rolling Stone has such an important health article behind their wall - I've seen other places unwall important articles - shoutout to @WIRED). I personally had a student who experienced #BrainFog after getting #covid - couldn't tell me what half of 18 is anymore - he was in Year 6
https://www.europesays.com/us/308463/

#CovidIsNotOver #LongCovid #Health #school #kids #children #WearAMask #pandemic

#FactFriday
An unwalled version of a walled article that originally appeared in Rolling Stone (not happy that Rolling Stone has such an important health article behind their wall - I've seen other places unwall important articles - shoutout to @WIRED). I personally had a student who experienced #BrainFog after getting #covid - couldn't tell me what half of 18 is anymore - he was in Year 6
https://www.europesays.com/us/308463/

#CovidIsNotOver #LongCovid #Health #school #kids #children #WearAMask #pandemic

@ricmac
I'm pro-facts, and anti-AI because I'm also a #Mathematics #teacher and #AI is horribly bad at doing Maths (can't reason). Students (or anyone at all) should NOT be using AI to learn Maths (or do their homework)! I just posted today about how AI is bad at tutoring. I run 2 (intermittent) series here, #MathsMonday and #FactFriday

Related: Programmers are also horribly bad at Maths, as evident by almost every e #calculator in existence gives wrong answers. See https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/111164851485070719

@ricmac
I'm pro-facts, and anti-AI because I'm also a #Mathematics #teacher and #AI is horribly bad at doing Maths (can't reason). Students (or anyone at all) should NOT be using AI to learn Maths (or do their homework)! I just posted today about how AI is bad at tutoring. I run 2 (intermittent) series here, #MathsMonday and #FactFriday

Related: Programmers are also horribly bad at Maths, as evident by almost every e #calculator in existence gives wrong answers. See https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/111164851485070719

fyi #FactFriday ➡️ The global military burden—the share of GDP devoted to military expenditure—increased to 2.5 per cent in 2024. Explore the data: https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Accurate, dependable information matters more than ever. Invest in the facts. Support #SIPRI: [bit.ly/4gI9QkX](http://bit.ly/4gI9QkX)

@josh
#FactFriday

@josh
#FactFriday

#FactFriday
A variation on a theme this week - #HowTo #safely #report #facts - i.e. #leak / #whistleblow - to #journalists

First up, an #article which crossed my path today, which prompted the idea https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/how-to-leak-to-a-journalist/

And to add to that some #links for some other available methods (with thanks to @phocks for assistance with finding the links)

#Hushline blog post - https://hushline.app/library/blog/newsrooms-and-journalists/

Contact ( #Australian ) #ABC #ABCTV #Investigations - https://www.abc.net.au/news/confidential-tips/

#FactFriday
A variation on a theme this week - #HowTo #safely #report #facts - i.e. #leak / #whistleblow - to #journalists

First up, an #article which crossed my path today, which prompted the idea https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/how-to-leak-to-a-journalist/

And to add to that some #links for some other available methods (with thanks to @phocks for assistance with finding the links)

#Hushline blog post - https://hushline.app/library/blog/newsrooms-and-journalists/

Contact ( #Australian ) #ABC #ABCTV #Investigations - https://www.abc.net.au/news/confidential-tips/

@randulo
"There are people out there would could make a difference, and the rest of us need to finds ways to help them" - hence my sporadic #FactFriday series when something comes to mind that I can write about with expertise (or studies, or whatever). We don't need "Community Notes" here - we already have people who can do #FactChecks in their area of expertise!

@randulo
"There are people out there would could make a difference, and the rest of us need to finds ways to help them" - hence my sporadic #FactFriday series when something comes to mind that I can write about with expertise (or studies, or whatever). We don't need "Community Notes" here - we already have people who can do #FactChecks in their area of expertise!

@jorijn @mijndert @DevWouter "Algorithms don't favor negativity, they favor what drives (your) attention" - Yeah it's like on TV where people wanna watch reality shows full of bitchin' rather than documentaries, sadly. Makes it hard for people who are more interested in learning facts.

P.S. for those who are interested - I do a semi-regular #FactFriday series (just when something occurs to me to write about)

@jorijn @mijndert @DevWouter "Algorithms don't favor negativity, they favor what drives (your) attention" - Yeah it's like on TV where people wanna watch reality shows full of bitchin' rather than documentaries, sadly. Makes it hard for people who are more interested in learning facts.

P.S. for those who are interested - I do a semi-regular #FactFriday series (just when something occurs to me to write about)

@davey_cakes
""But Fedi doesn't have fact checkers either?""

Speak for yourself! 😂 Welcome to #FactFriday 🙂

@davey_cakes
""But Fedi doesn't have fact checkers either?""

Speak for yourself! 😂 Welcome to #FactFriday 🙂

1/6
This week for #FactFriday I want to point out some of the more subtle ways that #misinformation and #disinformation is spread on #blogs and #SocialMedia by people I am dubbing the #Disinformati (the #Illuminati of disinformation 😉 ) as a cautionary tale of what to be aware of when on these sites. I have encountered all of this in the realm of #Mathematics #Maths #Math but the take-aways apply equally to all subjects....

1/6
This week for #FactFriday I want to point out some of the more subtle ways that #misinformation and #disinformation is spread on #blogs and #SocialMedia by people I am dubbing the #Disinformati (the #Illuminati of disinformation 😉 ) as a cautionary tale of what to be aware of when on these sites. I have encountered all of this in the realm of #Mathematics #Maths #Math but the take-aways apply equally to all subjects....

1/8
I thought I had run out of false #Mathematics claims to talk about for #MathsMonday, but good ol' human nature 😂 I've seen yet more made-up #Maths rules by people not willing to admit they were wrong (which I just happened to write about for #FactFriday last week https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/112654473881719394) - in this case "the #Math order of operations (and other) rules only exist to save us writing brackets". Yeah, nah...

1/8
I thought I had run out of false #Mathematics claims to talk about for #MathsMonday, but good ol' human nature 😂 I've seen yet more made-up #Maths rules by people not willing to admit they were wrong (which I just happened to write about for #FactFriday last week https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/112654473881719394) - in this case "the #Math order of operations (and other) rules only exist to save us writing brackets". Yeah, nah...

3/6
Because what came to mind when I saw the "people make up rules to explain things" study is "implicit multiplication" (yes, this #FactFriday thread is another #MathsMonday cross-over event 😉). i.e. people forget about the #Maths rules of Terms/The Distributive Law, and then make up "implicit multiplication" to explain why Terms are a single unit in #Mathematics expressions, and then, with the statement in this study, I think it becomes very entrenched once their made-up #Math rule works...

3/6
Because what came to mind when I saw the "people make up rules to explain things" study is "implicit multiplication" (yes, this #FactFriday thread is another #MathsMonday cross-over event 😉). i.e. people forget about the #Maths rules of Terms/The Distributive Law, and then make up "implicit multiplication" to explain why Terms are a single unit in #Mathematics expressions, and then, with the statement in this study, I think it becomes very entrenched once their made-up #Math rule works...

1/6
A while ago, I saw a study which found that, in the absence of knowing the actual rules, people will make up rules to explain observed behaviour. Something happened this week which made me think "I should write about that for #FactFriday this week", but it seems I didn't save the link, and now I can't find it.

But in looking for that article, I did find this one https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds which is kinda similar and quite interesting. In part it mentions #ConfirmationBias...

1/6
A while ago, I saw a study which found that, in the absence of knowing the actual rules, people will make up rules to explain observed behaviour. Something happened this week which made me think "I should write about that for #FactFriday this week", but it seems I didn't save the link, and now I can't find it.

But in looking for that article, I did find this one https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds which is kinda similar and quite interesting. In part it mentions #ConfirmationBias...

#FactFriday
A house is meant to be a shelter from the rain for people, not a tax shelter

#FactFriday
A house is meant to be a shelter from the rain for people, not a tax shelter

#FactFriday
This week, SIFT, a way to spot #misinformation
TL;DR
Stop - take a moment to stop and reflect
Investigate - is it a credible source, etc.
Find... better coverage if it still seems questionable after the previous step
Trace - find the original context

With the last, one time I saw a picture which was making certain claims, but when I found the original source it was just the pic itself on Twitter, so everyone who attached a story to it literally made it up!

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240509-the-sift-strategy-a-four-step-method-for-spotting-misinformation

#FactFriday
This week, SIFT, a way to spot #misinformation
TL;DR
Stop - take a moment to stop and reflect
Investigate - is it a credible source, etc.
Find... better coverage if it still seems questionable after the previous step
Trace - find the original context

With the last, one time I saw a picture which was making certain claims, but when I found the original source it was just the pic itself on Twitter, so everyone who attached a story to it literally made it up!

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240509-the-sift-strategy-a-four-step-method-for-spotting-misinformation

1/5
Previously for #FactFriday I've spoken about how to spot #FakeNews.Today I want to speak about how to spot a #bully online, as today is #DoItForDollyDay (see more about this at https://www.dollysdream.org.au/). i.e. bully's motives are disingenuous - just looking for a target!

The key point is to recognise #bullies ASAP and stop engaging with them. There's no winning a "debate" with one, since they don't actually care about that - they simply want to bully you! There's a saying #DontFeedTheTroll...

1/5
Previously for #FactFriday I've spoken about how to spot #FakeNews.Today I want to speak about how to spot a #bully online, as today is #DoItForDollyDay (see more about this at https://www.dollysdream.org.au/). i.e. bully's motives are disingenuous - just looking for a target!

The key point is to recognise #bullies ASAP and stop engaging with them. There's no winning a "debate" with one, since they don't actually care about that - they simply want to bully you! There's a saying #DontFeedTheTroll...

1/2
#FactFriday
Even when you get a ecard from an actual #friend on your #birthday from a legit birthday card website, it STILL could be from a #scammer - be careful! You could be clicking on a malicious link!

I had such a card recently, and was concerned because as far as I knew, my birthday had never been leaked (we always teach people to be careful about who they tell their birthday to. e.g. don't reply to "try this fun game" which needs your birthday info).

https://it-online.co.za/2023/02/10/new-birthday-phishing-tactic-could-target-900m-people/

1/2
#FactFriday
Even when you get a ecard from an actual #friend on your #birthday from a legit birthday card website, it STILL could be from a #scammer - be careful! You could be clicking on a malicious link!

I had such a card recently, and was concerned because as far as I knew, my birthday had never been leaked (we always teach people to be careful about who they tell their birthday to. e.g. don't reply to "try this fun game" which needs your birthday info).

https://it-online.co.za/2023/02/10/new-birthday-phishing-tactic-could-target-900m-people/

1/6
I have a #MathsMonday #FactFriday cross-over event post for you this week 🙂

The #fact is that #Mathematics is universal. We may use different notation in different countries, but the underlying #Maths is the same everywhere. i.e. there is nothing "arbitrary" about #Math

I saw someone question if there might be "different" Maths somewhere else in the universe. No. If I have 1 thing, and I get another thing, I now have 2 things. i.e. 1+1=2 (or your country's notation)...

1/6
I have a #MathsMonday #FactFriday cross-over event post for you this week 🙂

The #fact is that #Mathematics is universal. We may use different notation in different countries, but the underlying #Maths is the same everywhere. i.e. there is nothing "arbitrary" about #Math

I saw someone question if there might be "different" Maths somewhere else in the universe. No. If I have 1 thing, and I get another thing, I now have 2 things. i.e. 1+1=2 (or your country's notation)...

#FactFriday ;-)

To finish first, first you have to finish

#Olympics #Winner #GoldMedal #Australia #StevenBradbury #DoABradbury #DoingABradbury #TheTortoiseAndTheHare

#FactFriday ;-)

To finish first, first you have to finish

#Olympics #Winner #GoldMedal #Australia #StevenBradbury #DoABradbury #DoingABradbury #TheTortoiseAndTheHare

1/3
pic from https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/topic-library/articles-and-tips/how-to-spot-fake-news

#FakeNews has been topical lately, so for #FactFriday this week I'd like to give you some quick bullet-points on how to spot it (a real #news story will have most, if not all, of these qualities)
- has a source been quoted
- if so check to see if it's a real news website
- does the story have an author listed. i.e. a byline
- can you find any information about the person in the byline (e.g. most #journalists are on social media)...

1/3
pic from https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/topic-library/articles-and-tips/how-to-spot-fake-news

#FakeNews has been topical lately, so for #FactFriday this week I'd like to give you some quick bullet-points on how to spot it (a real #news story will have most, if not all, of these qualities)
- has a source been quoted
- if so check to see if it's a real news website
- does the story have an author listed. i.e. a byline
- can you find any information about the person in the byline (e.g. most #journalists are on social media)...

This thread has been brought to you by #FactFriday

This thread has been brought to you by #FactFriday

💡 Fact Friday 💡

Look I'm actually doing one 👀 ❕

You can find out a little bit more on Mount Everest and Mauna Kea, over at: https://geology.com/records/highest-mountain-in-the-world.shtml

Image fact source: https://www.sciencefocus.com

#science #geology #factfriday #friday #blog #student #education

1/4
This week for #FactFriday I wanted to tell you about a (unfortunately) little known #Nutrition #WeightLoss #Fact - did you know that #MonoUnsaturatedFattyAcids #MUFA (disappointingly usually just referred to as "good fats") can help you to lose #Belly #Fat #BellyFat? Disclaimer that I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist, but here is a scientific study about it https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17384344/ and I can attest to it having worked for me (2cm reduction in waist-measurement). So how do I know about it? Well...

1/4
This week for #FactFriday I wanted to tell you about a (unfortunately) little known #Nutrition #WeightLoss #Fact - did you know that #MonoUnsaturatedFattyAcids #MUFA (disappointingly usually just referred to as "good fats") can help you to lose #Belly #Fat #BellyFat? Disclaimer that I'm not a Doctor/Nutritionist, but here is a scientific study about it https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17384344/ and I can attest to it having worked for me (2cm reduction in waist-measurement). So how do I know about it? Well...

@austinkocher
A few people have replied with some tips about #hashtags and similar. I have many such tips pinned to my profile, including how to pin more than 5 posts to your profile. :-) I post (semi)regularly for #MathsMonday, #TechTuesday, and #FactFriday (and other odds and sods). Here is a direct link to my #TechTips thread https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/110968940770720902

@austinkocher
A few people have replied with some tips about #hashtags and similar. I have many such tips pinned to my profile, including how to pin more than 5 posts to your profile. :-) I post (semi)regularly for #MathsMonday, #TechTuesday, and #FactFriday (and other odds and sods). Here is a direct link to my #TechTips thread https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/110968940770720902