Evaluating Sources

Fake news? 

If you haven't been living under a rock, you've probably heard the term "fake news". This term has been used to refer to everything from sensationalist misinformation, to blatant lies, to "anything-I-don't-agree-with". With a changing news landscape and a majority (68%) of Americans getting their news on Social Media - how can we suss out fact from fiction?

There's a lot of work to do, but start with these crucial basics: 

• Diversify, diversify, diversify: Getting all your updates from Fox News? CNN only? Facebook? John Oliver? - Start getting some more sources in your backpack, because you're only getting one piece of the puzzle. For a place to start - check out the media bias chart linked below. You'll be amazed how many reliable fact-based news sources you haven't even heard of!

• Do your research! Whether it's a tweet from a politician or a well-known news publication, always analyze! Ask: Who owns the news source? What are their views? Where do they get their funding? Who is producing the information? What is their process for gathering information? How accurate is their supporting evidence? Do they cite their sources? 

• Content analysis is key! No single news source is accurate and unbiased 100% of the time. Analyze every news story individually. Look for the author's credentials, follow their evidence to make sure it's rooted in fact, use a fact-checker and read an alternative perspective on the issue.

According to a 2020 Pew Research Center study, many Americans distrust news sources. Luckily, we have a lot of fact-checking tools at our disposal - not to mention our original content evaluators: Our critically-thinking brain!

Remember your ABC's EVERY TIME you see something pop up on your Google search or news feed: 

1. AUTHOR: Who produced this information? Who is the author? Is it an agency or organization? If so, who owns this organization? 
2. BIAS: What ACTUAL EVIDENCE are they presenting to support their claims? Can I link to their sources? If they have no evidence, I can suspect there may be bias - or an unsubstantiated claim. 
3. CREDIBILTY: How do I know this person is reliable? What credentials/ expertise do they have on this topic? Are they using credible sources? 

What better way to get a global perspective than to see news from around the world? Remember to use your critical inquiry questions from above to guide your analysis of international news sources. Check out multiple sources and ask yourself: What is highlighted in this news source? What news is missing? 

This is just a snippet of countries - search for many other sources using Google.