McBride also said to be wary of posts from national politicians or candidates for political office. With the presidential campaign hitting its final stretch, both candidates might be prone to exaggeration or hyperbole to serve their goals. Instead, defer to your local officials and leaders.

“The more local you can go, the more likely it is you’re getting accurate information,” she said. 

Fifth step: Read laterally, as Mahadevan puts it.

If you see something online that looks questionable, try to corroborate it across multiple outlets. Don’t put all your stock in a single person online. Be sure to check official federal sources like the National Weather Service, or trusted news sources. 

If you see an image that looks like “movie magic,” you should try to find the same event from multiple angles to be sure it’s a recent photo and not generated by artificial intelligence, McBride said.

“This won’t work perfectly,” she said. “I saw that there was a photo of I-40, between Asheville and Knoxville, where a couple of police (cars) were washed out, and there was rumors circulating that it was a fake image and it turned out to be a real image. It was just so unbelievable that people thought for sure it wasn’t real.”

But Mahadevan said, generally, a lot of misinformation can be combatted by being a more active consumer of news. Instead of getting information by scrolling through TikTok, Instagram or Facebook, seek out the news you want.

“Social media newsfeeds have completely made us passive consumers of information,” he said. “So now we’re just kind of passively scrolling. What I always encourage people to do is think more consciously about what you’re consuming.”

But for many residents of the rural parts of South Carolina, finding reliable, local sources of news can be difficult.

News deserts

South Carolina has seen a precipitous decline in local, daily newspapers in recent decades, a trend that can be tied directly to the rise of online misinformation, Mahadevan said. The “information vacuum” created when a local paper folds typically will go unnoticed by many residents until a massive storm or other disaster starts bearing down, he said. Without a local metro paper, people might flock to social media sites like Facebook and NextDoor for information.

COLUMBIA, S.C − The ground was laid for Ole Miss football’s decisive win against South Carolina early last Sunday morning.

Specifically, at 2 a.m. around a firepit.

The No. 12 Rebels beat South Carolina 27-3 on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. The convincing victory came on the heels of a loss to Kentucky that had Ole Miss players tossing and turning. So it was, late after the loss to Kentucky, that some Rebels met up to talk about how they wouldn’t let it happen against the Gamecocks. The players found a firepit with plenty of room.

“We couldn’t sleep,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said. “We just had tough conversations. Us being able to bounce back and have a win like this, and obviously our defense showing out in a big way was huge.”

The Ole Miss defense excelled. The Rebels (4-1, 1-1 SEC) forced two turnovers and stopped the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2 SEC) three times on fourth down. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers was held to 162 passing yards. Combined with Ole Miss’ excellent red zone offense (four touchdowns on four trips), it translated into Ole Miss’ most important win of the season.

Unlike some Ole Miss wins this season, there wasn’t one star. No Rebel had 100 yards rushing or receiving. It was a team effort to come up with big plays. Defensive tackle Walter Nolen stood out, especially because defensive end Princely Umanmielen’s didn’t play. Nolen notched two sacks and recovered a Robby Ashford fumble. Rebels’ defensive tackle JJ Pegues scored a touchdown on both his rushing attempts from the goal line.

“I thought this was a really hard week,” coach Lane Kiffin said. “I felt probably the worst feeling after a loss in the most amount of days since we’ve been here … it was like we just handed (the Kentucky game) away in so many ways. So not what we thought we were going to play like. Our guys battled this week.”

Dart said this win was important, and he felt an urgency in practices leading up to it. He knows Ole Miss is talented, but another loss like last week would’ve sent the Rebels’ lofty aspirations up in flames. That’s why Dart and other players met around the fire, and team leaders has one-on-one meetings.

“This was a really good win for our team,” Dart said. “I can’t even explain how much it hurt last week. Being able to go through that, and then stack this win, we get some good momentum.”

Last week, Ole Miss took a punch. On Saturday, Ole Miss’ leaders showed the team can get off the mat.

“I think it showed what our true identity is,” Dart said. “We had every opportunity to divide and turn away inside the locker room and point fingers at this, that and the other. The truth is that we didn’t.”

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

South Carolina returns to action in Week 6 after an all-important bye week.

The Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1 SEC) will take on the No. 12 Ole Miss Rebels Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.

GamecockCentral is here at Williams-Brice Stadium to provide live updates throughout the afternoon.

South Carolina stays hot, picks up another 4-star commitment

By: Kevin Miller

On Saturday, just a couple of hours before the South Carolina football team took the field against the 12th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels, the Gamecocks got some good recruiting news when 4-star tight end Jamel Howse (Newberry High School; Newberry, South Carolina) revealed his commitment to Shane Beamer’s program. A frequent visitor to campus, he was one of many high-level prospects in Columbia for a huge recruiting weekend.

Howse, a class of 2026 recruit, is ranked as the 151st-best player in the country, regardless of position. On3 considers the athletic playmaker the No. 7 tight end in the nation and the No. 2 Palmetto State prospect. Despite having another full year of high school football remaining, Howse owns multiple other Power-4 scholarship offers (including ones from West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Cincinnati, and UCF) and has drawn interest from additional major programs.

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As a player, Howse is a dynamic threat in the passing game. The 6’4″ weapon lines up all over the offense for Newberry and has a knack for finding coverage soft spots. Once the ball is in his hands, a “Howse Call” (you’re welcome to play-by-play announcers everywhere) is always on the table thanks to good, long-striding speed and a strong, forceful running style.

Howse’s pledge marks the Gamecocks’ fourth commitment of the ’26 cycle. He joins linebacker Rodney Colton, Jr., linebacker/EDGE Keenan Britt, and in-state offensive lineman Anthony Baxter.

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On Friday, the Gamecocks secured a pledge from class of 2026 4-star wide receiver Jordon Gidron. The local standout also announced he was reclassifying to the ’25 cycle, meaning he will arrive on campus even sooner. Another in-state 4-star wide receiver, Rock Hill High School’s Malik Clark, announced his own commitment shortly before Howse. Clark is part of the 2025 recruiting class.

Shane Beamer and the South Carolina football coaching staff are getting hot on the recruiting trail, and the good news for Gamecock fans is that they show no signs of stopping.