Fact Checking the News

During these turbulent times featuring a global pandemic and urban unrest, information is constantly coming at us from numerous sources -- in print, on the radio and television, and on the Internet. Not all of that information is accurate, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. Luckily, I have created some guides that will help you get to the truth.

To access some of these resources, click on Research Help on the Library’s home page -- either in the blue bar at the top or under Quicklinks. There you will find two tabs that will help: one on Website Evaluation and the other dealing with Information & Fake News.

Under Website Evaluation, you will learn the importance of looking at the domain suffix when determining the credibility of a site. Typically, you can assume that sites with the suffixes .gov (the U.S. government) and .edu (educational institutions) are credible. Sites with other suffixes, such as .org (a non-profit organization), .com (a business), and .net may or may not be credible. The reader would need to delve more deeply in order to determine whether those sites contain bias. Also under this tab, find two tests that will help you decide whether the information on a website is true and useful: CRAAP (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, purpose) and STAAR (slant, topical & timely, accuracy, authority, relevance).

It is always important to fact check the news. A quality publication, either in print or online, will reference its information, letting you know where it originated. You should always trace any claims back to the primary source if possible. There are links to government websites and statistical sources available in my News, Politics & Current Events guide that will help. Also find fact checking sites such as PolitiFact, Snopes, and FactCheck under the Information & Fake News tab in the Research Help guide.

An excellent site to consult for a balanced view of the news is AllSides. A link to it can be found in our News, Politics & Current Events guide. When you search a topic in AllSides, you will be presented with three lists of articles, one each from the center, left and right. The site also contains tabs for Facts & Fact Checking, a Perspectives Blog, and a Story of the Week. An important feature of AllSides is the page on Media Bias Ratings, which will let you know where 600 news sources fall on the political spectrum in terms of their content and editorials.

Always be sure to use these sources and others to check for accuracy and bias in the news. And remember that you can email us at library@harcum.edu if you are unsure about the validity of any source or if you have any other questions related to research.