Throughout unSpun the authors have been reiterating the importance of questioning, track-backing, and cross-checking in order to be a smart consumer. They have provided countless examples and case studies that expose the tricks of propaganda. In Chapter 8 they continue their advice, telling readers "How to be Sure."

Again, we are dealing with the same tricks like Dangling Comparatives and the Superlative Swindle, as well as psychological issues like Cognitive Dissonance. The authors point out that when major news sources, like the Yale Law Journal, make errors with quotes, it crumbles the readers' confidence and creates the notion that there must be other lies and errors misleading the general public in every-day plain text. Since we have been studying propaganda, we know this to be true. Factual, respectable sources should be reliable but aren't always. We need to be armed with guidelines for fact-checking, which is exactly what unSpun provides.

The rule that I found to be most helpful and interesting was the final rule: Be Skeptical, but Not Cynical. I like how the authors define cynicism as "a form of gullibility." Cynics don't keep their minds open, but rather immediately reject facts without support, just like naive people accept facts without evidence. Cynical arguments usually portray an "us vs. them" or "me vs. they" mentality, which is clearly not an open, honest approach. This final rule has encouraged me to be more aware of how I analyze information and how my own emotions/hang ups can influence the way I receive info.