CENTRAL TEXAS (KXXV) — In a world filled with millions of people sharing information every second of the day online, and now the rise of AI, misinformation can spread in the blink of an eye, with unintended consequences.
It's something 25 News highlighted during National News Literacy Week this month.
Watch to learn more about the importance of accuracy when reporting on local weather conditions:
"It can be very dangerous when misinformation is going on during severe weather," said 25 News and 15ABC meteorologist, Josh Johns.
In October, reports from CBS News, The New York Times and the BBC and more were highlighting the damaging effects of misinformation spreading online after Hurricane Milton.
When harsh winter weather hit Texas earlier this year, mobile apps showed differing snow predictions — leading to misinformation being shared all over.
25 News and 15ABC's Chief Meteorologist Matt Hines explains that it comes back to the viewers, to try the correct information from the correct sources.
"Sometimes it takes you — the public — to realize, 'Okay, I can trust this source — I can't trust this source'," Hines said.
What are those correct sources though? Our weather team explains —
They say to trust actual meteorologists — the 25 News and 15ABC team has over 40 years of combined experience, ready to dissect several weather models to make the best weather predictions.
They take their knowledge to the field in resources like the Storm Wrangler, to report from the storm itself.
They then take all this information and video to us on-air, online, and on our mobile app.
Not all weather apps have multiple resources factoring into its predictions, as some apps can base its predictions off one weather model.
Our team provides the resources you won't find from Facebook users or weather enthusiasts, when all eyes are on the skies.
"You're getting the combined brainpower and the combined knowledge and forecasting from meteorologists — a team of meteorologists — and you know you're going to be getting something that's reliable and trustworthy," said 25 News and 15ABC's meteorologist Caleb Chevalier.
