Research Guides Engaging With News Media Accuracy Fact Checking

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 30, 2025, 10:09 PM

research guides engaging with news media accuracy fact checking

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act on all type of media responsibly. Fact-checking is an important part of evaluating and analyzing information that comes through news and other media. "Fast news" and social media make it very easy to both send and receive information. From deliberate disinformation campaigns to viral misinformation, one of the most effective things you can do to prevent the spread of so-called "fake news" is to stop and evaluate information before sharing. Follow the steps in this guide using the tabs across the top for fact-checking strategies and guides to evaluate news. "Fake news" is a widely-used term with no clear meaning.

People use this term to mean anything from satire to misunderstandings and deliberate disinformation campaigns to information that is contrary to a person's previously-held beliefs. The term is not new: it was used in the New York Times at least as far back as 1894. Typically, when people use this term they're referring to one of three types of bad information: The good news is that all of these types of bad information can be addressed using the strategies offered in this guide! For more detailed reading on this subject, try 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, Ohio 45435 | (937) 775-2525

Use this section of the guide to find a list of fact-checking resources. Contact UsLibrary AccessibilityUO Libraries Privacy Notices and Procedures 1501 Kincaid Street Eugene, OR 97403 P: 541-346-3053 F: 541-346-3485 From Indiana University East's "Fake News" Guide This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Fact checking is one way to identify fake or misleading news.

Fact-checking resources like these can help you evaluate news sources for accuracy and bias: Politifact: Fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims made by elected officials and others who discuss politics. Run by editors and reports of the Tampa Bay Times, an independent Florida newspaper. FactCheck.org: A nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocate for voters that monitors the accuracy of statements made by major political players in the U.S. Avoid searching with keywords that make assumptions like: Search engines from Google to databases try to match your search terms.

A source may discuss your topic but not appear in the search results (or high up in the search results) if it does not use the same words you do. This graphic from the infodemic article below demonstrates the value of checking news sources. Sharing and using the resources on this page will slow the spread of misinformation. Some news is intentionally false (satire, hoaxes, disinformation). Other news aims to be real. The creator, author, journalist, director, editor, publisher, producer, and sharer each have an opportunity to contribute a perspective or bias on their news products.

This video from How Stuff Works provides an introduction to fake news and an accompanying article "10 Ways to Spot a Fake News Story." There can be an overwhelming number of news sources available, and it is hard to tell which ones are good and which are not. This guide provides strategies for how to evaluate news sources. It also shares news sources that are available from the University Libraries and Memphis-focused news sources. The News Literacy Project has put together a quick checklist for verifying information. These 10 steps can help you tell between a real story and a hoax.

Using a checklist like the ones provided by The New Literacy Project can be useful, but it's necessary for you to come up with your own criteria for evaluating news content on a case... Verify, cross-check, and compare content you see online to avoid spreading "fake news." Here are few basic tools to get you started: Found an image you think may have been manipulated or photo-shopped? Use these tools to check for any digital changes: Want more tools?

Check out the Verification Handbook's List of Tools When evaluating a resource for credibility and appropriateness consider these questions. A state-funded collaboration between the Delaware Department of Education and the University of Delaware Library providing online magazines, journals, encyclopedias and training for all Delaware K-12 public schools Delaware public school students should contact their classroom teacher or school librarian to obtain the UDLib/SEARCH username and password to access the UDLib/SEARCH resources in this guide. It is often useful to check the accuracy of statements that are made in print and online media. Four steps in the process of fact checking and a list of websites for fact checking can be found below.

Four Moves for Fact Checking 1. Check for previous work: Look around to see if someone else has already fact-checked the claim or provided a synthesis of research. 2. Go upstream to the source: Go “upstream” to the source of the claim. Most web content is not original.

Get to the original source to understand the trustworthiness of the information. 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West Bronx, NY 10468 718-960-8000 Maps & Directions Critically evaluating information is important for both consumers and producers of information. As a journalist, it is essential that you assess the accuracy of the information you present, no matter the source. Inaccurate information may be the results of simple mistakes, outdated information, confusing or misleading information, or outright lies. The Society of Professional Journalists states in it's Code of Ethics, that "Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough."

This page includes approaches on fact-checking your writing as well as resources for evaluating claims made by other journalists. From the PBS Series Take on Fake, multimedia journalist Laura Garcia from First Draft walks us through how she fact-checked a viral video of an "escaped coronavirus patient" using free tools on the internet.

Research Guides Engaging With News Media Accuracy Fact Checking

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