Keeping It Real: How to Spot Fake News

A guide to identifying and evaluating news sources to distinguish quality reliable sources from the spectrum of fake news available on the web.

Reliable Sources

Using PC Library Databases to Find Reliable News

Your PC Library subscribes to several databases that include reliable newspapers, news magazines, and broadcast news transcripts. Keep in mind that these sources will include opinions as well as facts. Use the strategies on the “Evaluating Sources” page to help you determine the purpose and accuracy of specific articles you find.

To access these resources from off campus, you will need to log in with your MEID and password:

Reliable News Websites

The following news websites are generally considered to be reliable and unbiased. Keep in mind that some articles may present opinions as well as fact.

  • The Center for Public Integrity One of the country’s oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
  • Christian Science Monitor An independent international news organization that seeks to give readers the information they need to come to their own conclusions.
  • Reuters An international news agency headquartered in London.

Think for Yourself

Whenever you are reading the news, don't be a passive reader.  Instead, be sure to engage in critical thinking about the topic and the article itself.  Critical thinking is the ability to generate questions that help you to evaluate the information and ideas within a news source.

Consider Context

Remember that information is created by someone and comes from somewhere.  So, consider who the author and publisher of the news source is.  Also, take time to consider the context (other things happening at the time) of an article, and evaluate the evidence that supports the news source.  Keeping these aspects in mind will help you to critically analyze your news information.

For more help, take a free course on how to critically analyze the news.

An checkout Facebook actions against fake news.