Countering misinformation goes hand in hand with learning to differentiate facts, opinions, and beliefs. Misinformation is often caused by people stating their opinions and beliefs as facts.

Knowing the differences between facts and your opinions can help you recognize when you are stating your opinions as facts and can help prevent accidentally spreading misinformation. These descriptions are adapted from Writing@CSU.

Facts

A fact is verifiable. We can determine whether it is true by researching the evidence. This may involve numbers, dates, or testimony. The truth of the fact is beyond argument if one can assume that measuring devices or records or memories are correct. Facts provide crucial support for the assertion of an argument. In other words, a fact is something that's capable of being proven or disproven, as in the examples below.

For example:

Tillamook chocolate ice cream contains cream, skim milk, and cocoa (among other ingredients).
According to the US Census Bureau, 49% of American households lived with a pet in 2017.
World War II ended in 1945.

However, facts by themselves are worthless unless we put them in context, draw conclusions, and, thus, give them meaning. That's where opinions come in.

Opinions

Opinions are trickier. An opinion is a judgment based on facts. It's an honest attempt to draw a reasonable conclusion from factual evidence. An opinion is potentially changeable, depending on how the evidence is interpreted. By themselves, opinions have little power to convince. You must always let your reader know what your evidence is and how it led you to arrive at your opinion.

For example:

Pizza is the best food to eat when visiting a new town, because even a bad pizza will taste pretty good.
A comedian who insulted several members of his audience shouldn't be invited to perform again at the same venue based on past performance.
Millions of people in America go without proper medical care. The country should institute national health insurance. It may be expensive, but that's where more facts come in.

In other words, an opinion reflects the values of whoever expresses it. It is one possible interpretation of data.

Beliefs

Beliefs are similar to opinions, but more grounded in emotion and philosophy: Unlike an opinion, a belief is a conviction based on cultural or personal faith, morality, or values. These can look like opinions because they express viewpoints, but they are not based on facts or other evidence. They cannot be disproved or even contested in a rational or logical manner. Since beliefs are inarguable, they cannot serve as the thesis of a formal argument. (Emotional appeals can, of course, be useful if you happen to know that your audience shares those beliefs.)

For example:

Apple pie is the best pie and anyone who disagrees is a communist.
Helping people in need is the right thing to do.
Capital punishment is legalized murder.

Unfortunately, beliefs and opinions are often presented as facts. This leads to misinformation, confusion, and weak research.

Test Your Skills

A 2018 Pew survey tested Americans on their knowledge of facts and opinions. The links below go into more details on the results.

OSU librarians have created a pair of similar surveys. The first is a little sillier, and intended to help practice these concepts before applying them to more serious situations. The second is based on more challenging issues that may come up in your research or everyday life.