Chapter Seventeen: We talk about the who, what, where, when, and why of misinformation

Misinformation, disinformation, fake news - whatever you call it, it’s wreaking havoc on our country right now. Sarah and Kim join forces with Seli from FTP to share our best tips for spotting fake and biased news.

Resources

Our best tips for spotting fake news

  • 5 W’s:
    • Who - who is the author? What do you know about them?
    • What - What is the piece saying? What is the purpose of the piece? What is the language choice telling you?
    • Where - where is the article posted? Where did they get their information from?
    • When - when was the article written and posted? When was the site founded, accredited, last updated?
    • Why - why is the author sharing the information? Why is the information helpful to you? Why is this page more helpful than another? (follow the money!)
  • If you get your news from social media - TRACE IT BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SOURCE!
  • Check multiple news outlets and compare coverage/message
  • Utilize fact-checking sites like Snopes, Politifact (paid for by the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school), factcheck.org (Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania)
  • Trust your instincts, accept when you are wrong, seek truth over validation
  • Foiling Fake News with Fourth Graders

Our best tips for spotting biased news

  • Bias vs. misinformation vs. disinformation
  • “Opinion” or “Personal” - these labels are easy to miss
  • Dan always says to look for the adjectives 
  • Follow news outlets with different slants; compare headlines
  • Media bias chart (left vs right; facts vs opinion/persuasion)
  • AllSides

Our personal resources for finding trustworthy news

Music credits