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What to do if false information is spreading

Official updatesLU-Alert · RTL, 100.7 · 112

Do this now

  1. Pause before you react or share. Some posts deliberately use fear or anger to make you share them.
  2. Check who posted it first, when, and from where. A screenshot, a forwarded voice message or "a friend who works for the police" is not a source.
  3. Look for the same news on the official channels: LU-Alert, infocrise.lu, your commune, and the radio on Status: Verified. Real warnings and instructions come through them.
  4. See whether trusted news outlets report it too. Likes and shares do not make a story true.
  5. Be careful with photos, videos and voices. They can be made with AI, or taken from another place or another year.
  6. If you cannot confirm it, do not share it, not even "just in case". An unconfirmed warning can send people the wrong way.
  7. If you have already shared something false, delete it and tell the people you sent it to.

Before

Choose your sources now

  • Install the LU-Alert app, save infocrise.lu, and know which radio stations to tune to. See Alerts and sirens.
  • Pick a few news outlets you trust, so you do not have to decide in the middle of a crisis.
  • Keep a battery or wind-up radio in the emergency kit. When the internet is down, rumours travel by word of mouth and the radio is the safest source.

Check before you share

  • Is the sender, or the original source, known and reliable?
  • Who published it first?
  • Does the website give a real name and a full address for the people behind it?
  • Do other trustworthy sources say the same?
  • Does it give facts and say where they come from?
  • If the answer to any of these is no, do not share it.

Know the tricks

  • Pressure to act fast: "share before it is deleted", "they do not want you to know".
  • Strong feelings: fear, anger, pride or disgust.
  • Old photos with a new caption, or a video cut so you cannot see what came before.
  • Claims that match your own views. Check them as carefully as claims you disagree with.

After

  • If someone in a family or neighbourhood group shares something false, answer calmly and add the link to the official source.
  • If an account pretends to be a ministry, the police or the rescue services, report it to the platform. If it asks for money or personal details, see Scam.
  • Distinguish deliberate deception from opinions and honest mistakes. Keep checking official instructions.
  • If the news is making you anxious, follow it at fixed times only, and switch off in between. See Coping with a crisis.

If you are…

Looking after children

  • Ask what they have seen online, and check it together. Show them how to find who posted something first.

Older people, and anyone who gets urgent calls

  • A call, voice message or video that sounds like a relative or an official and asks for money or quick action can be fake. Hang up and call back on a number you already know.

Not fluent in French, German or Luxembourgish

  • The infocrise.lu pages are also in English. Use them rather than translations posted by strangers.

In a power cut or network outage

  • Trust the radio and the official messages that reach you, and pass on only what they say, word for word. See Phone and internet down.

Easy-read summary

  • Stop and think before you share.
  • Ask who posted it first.
  • Check the official channels and the radio.
  • Photos, videos and voices can be fake.
  • If you are not sure, do not share it.