Quick Links to Resources
To Spot Fake News: Professional fact-checkers and a professor of communications offer tips for checking out stories that you suspect are fake.
- NPR’s Guide to Self Check the News
- How to Spot Fake News by FactCheck.org
- Washington Post Fact-Checkers Guide
To Determine Whether or Not a News Outlet is Reliable:
- Snopes’ Field Guide to Fake News Sites: The well-known rumor debunking site created this list of outlets that are known to publish fake news, hoaxes and/or satire.
- False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and Satirical “News” Sources: The list that begins on the third page of this Google Doc was compiled by Melissa Zimdars, a professor of communications at Merrimack College.
- FactCheck.org’s Misinformation Directory: The well-known non-profit site maintains a list of outlets that have published deceptive content.
To Fact Check Statements Made by Politicians and Other Officials:
- FactCheck.org: Run by he Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, this non-profit organization monitors the accuracy of statements made by U.S. politicians in speeches, television ads, debates, interviews and other public interactions.
- PolitiFact: This site, which is run by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, has been evaluating politicians’ statements since 2007. Each statement is researched by staffers and ranked on the “truth-o-meter,” which ranges from “Pants on Fire” to “True.” Read about PolitiFact’s research process here and also check out their sister site, PunditFact.