FIU Libraries: RCS 6245 / Psychological/Sociological Aspects of Disability: Become a Professional Fact Checker

AllSides This link opens in a new window
A useful source for introducing and demonstrating media bias. Mission is to make readers aware of biases in news coverage and to create understanding between people with different political viewpoints.

What do the Pros do?

Use the web! Can you find other sources that verify the information you found? The pros always turn to other sources to verify the legitimacy of a source. Open multiple tabs (this is called lateral reading). Do a search for the authors/organization/association. What do you find?

The pros use Wikipedia's Talk page. Use Wikipedia to your advantage by checking the references and using the Talk page. The Talk page shows how the article's claims are established, disputed and if need be modified.

The pros never take the About page at face value. Always question the About page of a website. Think of your friend's Instagram page. They look fun, happy, and popular all of the time because that is the image they want to portray. The same for About pages.

We all know anybody can pay to have a well-designed website. Fancy doesn't equal factual.

The pros are not fooled by links to reputable and reliable sources; because they can be an attempt to fool you.

Fact Checker
A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
Politfact
From the Poynter Institute, it rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics.
Snopes
Since 1994, Snopes has been fact-checking and doing original investigative reporting with evidence-based and contextualized analysis.
Open Secrets
Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, Open Secrets tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.
Fact Checker from WSJ
A website and a column in the paper identifying itself as the “truth squad”. Investigates the statements of political figures at the national, international or local level.
Duke Reportings' Lab: Fact Checking
A database of global fact-checking sites, which can be viewed as a map or as a list. Learn how they identify fact-checkers.

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