Disinformation in a Crisis
In the first hours of any emergency, facts are scarce and rumours fill the gap. Some are honest mistakes. Some are deliberate: scams, or attempts to spread fear and distrust. False information can send people towards danger, empty shops, block emergency lines and turn neighbours against each other. Good information is a survival resource, like water.
1. Before
- Choose your trusted sources now: your civil protection authority, police, weather service, municipality and public broadcaster. Save their websites and follow their official accounts.
- Keep a battery or crank radio. When the internet fails, rumours travel by word of mouth and public radio is the reference.
- Make sure emergency alerts are turned on in your phone. See Emergency alerts and warnings.
- Agree a family code word, so you can check that an urgent call or message asking for money or help is real.
- Talk with children and older relatives about not believing or forwarding everything they receive.
2. Check before you believe
Stop
- Strong emotion is the warning sign. If a message makes you afraid or angry and urges you to act or share at once, slow down.
Source
- Who is saying this? An authority, a known news organisation, an eyewitness, or "a friend of a nurse"?
- Go to the original. Open the authority's own website or account instead of trusting a screenshot.
- Look for the same information from at least two independent, reliable sources.
Date and place
- Old photos and videos from other countries are reused in every crisis. Check when and where it was first published. A reverse image search often shows it.
Images, video and voices
- Images, video and audio can be generated or altered. Do not treat a clip as proof on its own.
- Look for confirmation from official sources before acting on a dramatic video or a voice message.
- If a relative calls in distress asking for money, hang up and call them back on the number you know, or ask for the family code word.
Official alerts
- Real alerts come through the alert system, radio and official channels, not as forwarded chain messages.
- Authorities do not ask you for bank details, codes or payments.
3. Share responsibly
- If you cannot verify it, do not share it. "Just in case" is how rumours spread.
- Share official information by linking to the source.
- Do not post photos of victims, or details of police and military movements.
- If you shared something false, correct it in the same place.
- When someone you know shares a rumour, answer calmly with the official source. Do not mock them.
4. Look after yourself
- Check the news at set times, not all day. Constant scrolling raises anxiety and does not make you safer. See Mental Resilience.
Quick checklist
- Trusted sources saved
- Battery radio
- Emergency alerts on
- Family code word
- Rule: stop, check the source, check the date, then decide
Read also: How to recognise real information during a crisis, AI, deepfakes and digital identity, Drones and hybrid threats, Cyberattacks and all risks.
Sources
- European External Action Service: tackling disinformation
- EUvsDisinfo
- MCF Sweden: In case of crisis or war (brochure)
Educational material. Always follow instructions from your local authorities. Last reviewed: November 2026.