News and Information Literacy
Information is at our fingertips. News is constantly updated. The internet and social media open an information floodgate, that can be difficult to wade through. For those who have news and information literacy tools, the ever flowing river of information is empowering. The information and resources to gain a deeper understanding, learn a new perspective, and explore are all out there. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of biased, misleading, or wrong news and information sources, so news and information literacy tools are essential for those looking for a deeper understanding as they sort through the many messages we encounter every day. Here are some quick tips to think critically about the news you encounter Be aware of your own bias
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Read a variety of perspectives
- True neutrality isn't possible. Everyone has a bias. Be aware of that bias when you are reading around a topic. Seek to find articles told from a variety of perspectives to get the whole picture.
- Checkout AllSides.com to see news stories from a variety of perspectives.
Google doesn't verify its results, and Wikipedia doesn't check sources.
- Be critical, and think for yourself. Google is a corporation, and their main objective is to make money. They have a complicated algorithm to give you good results based on your search query. The information in their results are not verified by Google, and many people have ways to manipulate the Google algorithm in their favor. Look beyond the first few pages of results, and think critically about the information you find.
- Wikipedia has anonymous editors. Therefore, the more controversial a subject, the less you can rely on the Wikipedia page.
- Use places like Google and Wikipedia as a tool, but do not rely on them.
Go to the fact checking websites (Snopes, Fact Checker, PolitiFact).
- News analysis can be difficult and time-consuming. If you are having a difficult time verifying a story, use a fact checking website. They are experts and have already done the work for you.
And look critically at the source of a news article.
Journalists rely on sources for information. News articles with questionable sources should be considered with caution. Use IMVAIN to evaluate their sources. (IMVAIN quoted from “Key Concepts of News Literacy.” Digital Resource Center, Stony Brook Center for News Literacy, drc.centerfornewsliteracy.org/key-concepts-news-literacy.)
Journalists rely on sources for information. News articles with questionable sources should be considered with caution. Use IMVAIN to evaluate their sources. (IMVAIN quoted from “Key Concepts of News Literacy.” Digital Resource Center, Stony Brook Center for News Literacy, drc.centerfornewsliteracy.org/key-concepts-news-literacy.)
- INDEPENDENT sources are preferable to self-interested sources.
- MULTIPLE sources are preferable to a report based on a single source.
- Sources who VERIFY or provide verifiable information are preferable to those who merely assert.
- AUTHORATIVE and/or INFORMED sources are preferable to sources who are uninformed or lack authoritative backgournd.
- NAMED sources are better than anonymous ones.