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Journalism: JAMS 201: Media Literacy

Journalism LibGuide

Political Fact-Checking Websites

Snopes.com: a trusted fact-checking site, great for verifying politics and news
Poltifact.com: another non-partisan fact checking site, mostly political. Has partner sites to check claims made by TV news personalities & also state-level checking
OpenSecrets.orgresearch organization that focuses on money in politics and its effect on legislation and policy
AllSides.com: Presents news organizations and stories from Left, Center, and Right perspectives, side by side.
Media Bias Chart: rates reliability and political bias of news organizations through a chart

Identifying Fake News

Watch Out for Bias

"A predisposition that distorts your ability to fairly weigh the evidence and prevents you from reaching a fair or accurate judgment. Here's how to spot bias:

Look for evidence of a pattern of unfairness over time

Compare a variety of news outlets, especially to search for bias by omission

Take note of the self-interest of those alleging bias

Media Bias is a pattern of unfairness or willful inaccuracy over time by a specific journalist or news outlet."

Source: (Digital Resource Center, n.d.)