Sooner or later, even the best-intentioned users of social media end up spreading false or misleading content (often without meaning to). There are several problematic aspects of social media platforms and how they are used that contribute to this state of affairs: exciting information spreads more readily than accurate information, popular aggregator accounts get more traction than journalists and primary sources, users of major social media platforms are bombarded with far more content than can be meaningfully processed, and debate or ridicule of obvious nonsense can spread the nonsense to a wider audience (the Streisand Effect). This article discusses some potential ways of dealing with these issues and reducing one’s likelihood of spreading false information while using social media platforms, with a particular focus on X/Twitter.these posts rapidly went viral despite being total bullshitProblem 1: Exciting information spreads more readily than accurate information. Content tends to go viral not because it is factual, well sourced, or well researched, but because it triggers an emotional reaction. This state of affairs has a couple of consequences: it results in well-meaning individuals amplifying emotionally impactful content without verifying it, and it also incentivizes those who want to grow their accounts and maximize the reach of their posts to prioritize exciting content over factual information. X/Twitter’s new ad revenue sharing feature exacerbates the situation by financially rewarding those who achieve exceptionally high view counts, and also disincentivizes the deletion of posts that have been debunked, ensuring that misinformation remains on the platform.There are some…Ways to avoid spreading lies on social media