Library Guides: PSC 3410 Pressing the Agenda: Politics of the Media: Evaluating Media Sources

Lateral Reading

Some of the most credible websites are .com (New York Times, Wall Street Journal), while biased and partisan groups may have websites ending in .org. Don't only rely on the website domain (.com, .gov, .edu, or .org) to determine the credibility of the website. Lateral reading is a method used by professional fact-checkers to determine a source's credibility.

Steps for Lateral Reading:

Open new tabs and search for information about the website you're reading from Wikipedia or credible news sources.
Look for information about the mission, funding, and potential biases.
Go beyond the news story and look for the original resource or other scholarly information using Library resources.

Fact Checking

The websites linked below fact-check information that appears in news articles and websites.

Fact Check
Nonpartisan website that provides fact checking on political leaders and stories.
PolitiFact
Nonpartisan website that fact checks claims and quotes made by politicians. Includes the 'Truth-O-Meter' which rates the accuracy of statements made by politicians and public figures.
Poynter
The Poynter Institute provides a searchable fact-checking tool.
AP Fact Check
Find fact-checking and false news stories identified by the Associated Press.
Washington Post Fact Checker
This trusted news source offers in-depth analyses of claims made by politicians and news sources.
Snopes
Contains reports debunking news stories with their references. An independent publication owned by Snopes Media Group.

Resources

Resources for Further Reading

Citizen Literacy Toolkit - University of Louisville Libraries
Toolkit includes videos, handouts, and activities related to key information skills for reading news, voting, evaluating information, and understanding algorithms.
How to Spot Media Bias - COM Library
Includes a definition of media bias and questions to ask when evaluating media sources.
"Fake" News - Penn State University Libraries
Information for identifying and understanding fake news.