Noise vs. News: What's Your Source?

Evaluating Information

What to do:

1. Read/watch/listen very widely.

2. Some generally reliable sources are (some of which require a subscription): The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour, The Economist, The Pew Research Center, Democracy Now, as well as various local sources.

3. Recognize that even typically reliable sources, whether mainstream or alternative, corporate or nonprofit, rely on particular media frames to report stories and select stories based on different notions of newsworthiness.

4. Be critical of the sources we share and engage with on social media.

What to avoid:

1. “Fake, false, regularly misleading sites” which rely on “outrage” using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits” (examples: Politicalo, AmericanNews.com)​



2. Websites that may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information (examples: ConsciousLifeNews.com, CountdownToZeroTime.com)

3. These websites sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions (examples: BipartisanReport.com, TheFreeThoughtProject.com)

4. Purposefully fake satire/comedy sites that can offer critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news (examples: Christwire.org, TheOnion.com)