How can you archive online content that may disappear?

Imagine this: you’re investigating a social media post, and the author suddenly deletes it before you could save anything!

In the digital world, content can disappear in just a few seconds—especially when it comes to posts that spread disinformation. That’s why archiving online content is a key tool for anyone who wants to investigate, verify facts, or preserve evidence before it is deleted. In this video, you will learn how to easily and effectively archive posts and web pages, and why this technique is important in the fight against manipulation and false information.

Step 1: Copy the URL of the post you are investigating.

It’s crucial that you select the specific post’s URL. On platforms like Facebook, you do this by clicking on the date or timestamp of the post.

Step 2: Paste the link into a specialized archiving website, like archive.today.

This website creates a permanent link that will remain accessible, even if the original author deletes the message or page.

Step 3: Use Browser Plugins. If that process takes too long, you can also install browser plugins, such as the one offered by the Wayback Machine.

Using the plugin, you can archive the page instantly without having to navigate to a separate website.

Conversely, you can also use these same websites to search for previously deleted URLs, provided the page has been archived at least once before.

This technique is really important. Accounts that spread false information, usually don’t post a rectification, but just remove their content. With these tools we can prove they posted disinformation.