What is Fake News?
"Fake News" stories promoted as news yet are misleading and have not been fact-checked.
Fact-Checking Websites
Checks: Political Statements. Note: Product of Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Checks: Political Statements. Note: Has won the Pulitzer Prize.
Checks: News stores, Memes, and Urban legends. Note: Works cited at the end of debunking articles.
Checks: Scientific Claims. Note: Part of FactCheck.org with focus on science.
Checks: Bias rating for News articles, Websites, Think Tanks, Companies, etc. Note: A Multi-partisan website with bias ratings (left, center, right).
Checks: Effect of money and lobbying on elections and public policy. Note: Product of the Center for Responsive Politics (non-profit and nonpartisan).
Checks: Author backgrounds and work history. Note: Not intended for extensive credibility research. Intended as a professional networking website.
Fact-Check Scams
Does it sound too good to be true?
Browse scams by topic or most recent. Stay ahead of crooks with the latest information and practical tips from the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Information.
Fake News with Real World Consequences
"How Pizzagate went from fake news to a real problem for a D.C. business" by PolitiFact:
"Fake news became all too real over the weekend after a North Carolina man entered a Washington pizzeria with an assault rifle in an attempt to "self-investigate" a false but persistent conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton."
A Fake News Masterpiece
Reporter Scott Shane, interviewed on NPR, on his New York Times article "From Headline to Photograph, a Fake News Masterpiece" -- explaining how and why one man created fake news.
Above: photo of Cameron Harris, the fake news creator - photo taken from the original NY Times story.
How to Spot Fake News
"How to Spot Fake News - FactCheck.org" with advice from the detailed report "How to Spot Fake News."
“How to Spot Fake News” is part of “Alternative Facts and Fake News – Verifiability in the Information Society” by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Who Shares Fake News?
Pew Research Center surveyed 1,002 United States Adults from December 1 - 4, 2016.
Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP TEST
Start Here for Reputable News
Access to major international, national, and regional newspapers including television and radio news transcripts. (Full-text). Access this through the A-Z Databases: N list.
This is a business database formally known DOW access to journals, leading newspapers and magazines.
This comprehensive news collection is ideal for exploring issues and events at the local, regional, national, and international level. (Full-text)
This site ties together sources to present a rich analysis of issues: social, political, military, economic, environmental, scientific, and cultural.
Near real time access to AP, UPI, CNN Wire, Business Wire, and other international news wires. For access go to the A-Z Database List: N and select Newspaper Source Plus. Limit to Publication Type: News Wire and search your topic. You can further sub-arrange by Newest to Oldest, or some other combination.
Alternative Facts vs. Facts
On January 22nd, 2017 on Meet the Press, President Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway said that White House press secretary Sean Spicer gave "alternative facts" not falsehoods when describing the 2017 presidential inauguration crowd size. At a press conference on January 21st, 2017, Spicer said, "That was the largest audience to witness an inauguration, period." However, the statement was quickly fact-checked by media and found to be not true (Politifact.com).
2017 Inauguration Crowd Size
FactCheck.org reported "The Facts on Crowd Size" about the 2017 Presidential Inauguration after a crowd-size controversy started on Saturday, Jan. 21st, the day after the inauguration.
Confirmation Biases
Comparison of and discussion re Liberal Facebook and Conservative Facebook posts, presented side by side, and how social media feeds confirm individual biases. From the 2016 election campaign.