Fake News, Misinformation & Propaganda
This page provides background information, links, and tools from outside organizations to help guide users in navigating potential fake news
FAKE NEWS DEFINED:
Fake news is disinformation, hoaxes, or propaganda passed off as real news, often on social media sites or other online sources.
It’s important to note that many (arguably, most) news sources have some kind of explicit or implicit perspective, but that this doesn’t mean that those sources automatically qualify as fake news. That’s why it is extremely important to be able to assess the quality of content – ultimately it is up to you to make sure that your information is good.
Another useful handout is from EBSCO, one of the companies which provides many of the library’s paid online resources (which are free for library cardholders):
FACT CHECKING SITES:
AllSides.com
See news from multiple perspectives: left, right and center.
FactCheck.org
A product of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, this site is terrific for checking up on political claims.
Hoax Slayer
Similar to Snopes but tighter in scope, Hoax-Slayer focuses on email hoaxes, identity theft scams and spam.
LinkedIn
A professional networking website where you can look up the authors of articles and books to see if they’re credible.
Media Bias/Fact Check
One of the most “comprehensive media bias resources on the internet”
Politifact.com
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Politifact researches the claims of politicians and checks their accuracy.
Snopes.com
Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
Washington Post Fact Checker
While focused primarily on political facts, it covers specific claims in-depth and with plenty of cross-referencing.
LIBRARY GUIDES TEACHING HOW TO SPOT FAKE NEWS:
Albuquerque & Bernalillo County Public Library – Help My News is Fake
Colby Sawyer College – Fake News: What is Fake News?
Indiana University East – Fake News
Miama Dade College – Fake News (and how to fight it)
Ohio University – Fake News, Misinformation & Fact-Checking
University of Washington – Savvy Info Consumers: Evaluating Information
Zion-Benton Township High School – News Literacy
ORGANIZATIONS WITH EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL TO BECOME MEDIA/NEWS SAVVY:
Center for Media Literacy (CML)
Includes tools and ideas for teachers for bringing media literacy to the classroom.
Digital Resource Center – Center for News Literacy
Includes lesson plans, templates, and standards.
Media Literacy Now
“Provides policy and advocacy information, expertise, and resources to develop state laws to implement media literacy education in schools.”
National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)
Develop skills to be a critical thinker, effective communicator and active citizen.
News Literacy Curriculum for Educators
Activities for teachers, which parents can adapt too, from the American Press Institute.
The News Literacy Project (NLP)
An innovative national educational program that mobilizes seasoned journalists to work with educators to teach middle school and high school students how to sort fact from fiction in the digital age.
The Poynter Institute
Serves as the world’s leading resource for journalists to engage and inform the public in democratic societies.
Project Look Sharp
Lesson plans and materials to support critical thinking in the classroom
ARTICLES & WEBSITES:
10 Ways to Spot a Fake News Article
Alternative Facts and Fake News – Verifiability in the Information Society
CRAAP TEST – Currency Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose
Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Literacy
Fact Checker’s Guide for Detecting Fake News
Fake News: A Library Resource Round-Up
Fake News educational series from News-Decoder
Identifying Fake News: An Infographic and Educator Resources
Truth, Lies and Quibblers: Media Literacy for a New Era
Truth, Truthiness, Triangulation: a news literacy toolkit for a “post truth” world
When Fake News Stories Make Real News Headlines
BROWSER PLUG-INS:
Ad Detector (Chrome, Firefox)
Media Bias Fact Check Icon (Chrome, Firefox)
NewsGuard (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari)
LIBRARY RESOURCES:
Ask a librarian
Call or drop by any of the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County branches, a librarian is always available to help with researching your questions, and with heaps more accuracy than that robotic voice on your smartphone. How do you know you can trust library staff? We’re trained information professionals, many of us with advanced degrees in information literacy, and our jobs are to teach you and empower you with how to access and understand information. Librarians can help answer your questions via phone at 330-744-8636, email at reference@libraryvisit.org, and online contact form at Get Answers.
Search a library research site for news
If you’re looking for information on a specific topic, start at the library’s research databases instead of an internet search. Our databases have already done part of the work of evaluating information for you by selecting quality information sources