Media Literacy

Quick Tips

Diversify & center your media diet! Use either the All Sides Media Bias Chart or Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart to see the general political leanings of each of the news sources. Be sure to not exclusively read only right-leaning or only left-leaning sources. Be sure to include at least two sources on the center in your "media diet".

Fact check social media content! Anyone can create and share posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp and see it be shared thousands of times without it being independently fact checked. So don't take everything you see on social media at face-value - use any or all of the 7 or 8 fact checking websites to see for yourself what the deal really is.

Trace image origins! Use right click + "Search Google for this image." to trace the origin of an image. Often, an image will be taken out of an original article or out of context and posted with a new caption to create a completely different story to advance an agenda.

Use the SIFT Method! Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted (and I'd add varied) coverage, and Trace claims and quotes to its original context. Learn more here.

Fact-checking Sites

FactCheck.Org

From the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania

Politifact.com

Run by the St. Petersburg Times, check out  the site's "Truth-o-meter"

Project Vote Smart

Check voting records, background, and public statements of candidates from around the country.

Fact Checker (Washington Post)

From columnist Glenn Kessler, focusing on accuracy of statements of political figures "regarding issues of great importance, be they national, international or local."

Snopes.com

Fact-checking site for "for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation."

AP News Fact Checking
Reuters Fact Checking

Learn More

Explore more on misinformation and disinformation at MDC's "Fake News" Lib Guide.
See how All Sides juxtaposes news headlines on the same story but as reported by left-leaning, right-leaning, and centrist news sources.

Misinformation and Elections