Information Evaluation Tools
Everyday Information Evaluation Tools
- CRAAP Test for everyday information evaluation
- For a deeper analysis use Information Evaluation sheet from Facing History
Fact Checking Websites
Where People Get Their News
The Pew Research Center published a report "Political Polarization and Media Habits" in 2014.
Confirmation Bias from Facing History
What is confirmation bias and why does it matter?
Take a Deeper Dive
Bibliography
Annett, Evan. "What is 'fake news' and how can you spot it? Try our quiz." Globe and Mail. March 9, 2017
Borel, Brooke. "Fact-Checking Won't Save Us from Fake News." FiveThirtyEight. ESPN, January 4, 2017.
"Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Fake News Edition." On the Media. WNYC, November 18, 2016.
"Defining Confirmation Bias." Resource Library, Facing History and Ourselves. 2016.
Erlanger, Stephen. "Russia's RT Network: Is it more BBC or KGB?" The New York Times, March 8, 2017.
"Fake News." 60 Minutes, reported by Scott Pelley. Produced by Michael Radutzky, Guy Campanile, and Andrew Bast. March 26, 2017.
Filucci, Sierra. How to Spot Fake News. Common Sense Media, February 12, 2017.
Jacobson, Linda. "The Smell Test: Educators Can Counter Fake News with Information Literacy." School Library Journal, January 1, 2017.
Maheshwari, Sapna "How Fake News Goes Viral: A Case Study." The New York Times, November 20, 2016.
Mitchell, Amy et al. "Political Polarization and Media Habits." Pew Research Center: Journalism & Media, October 21, 2014.
Schulten, Katherine and Amanda Christy Brown. "Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning About Fake News." The New York Times: Lesson Plans, January 19, 2017.
Take the Fake News Quiz
"What is 'fake news' and how can you spot it? Try our quiz." from The Globe and Mail
A Note on Fake News
Identifying fake news requires going beyond basic information evaluation. Students now need to be persistent, critically skeptical and learn how to fact-check. Moreover, they need to understand the roles of confirmation bias and social media in spreading fake news. This NY Times article presents a case study and explains step-by-step how a Tweet by an individual in Texas became, unintentionally, a viral fake news story.
The tools and information on this LibGuide are intended to provide resources to better evaluate news sources and gain an understaning of how and why fake news is created and spreads around.
Questions to Ask
- What does the phrase “fake news” mean?
- When have you or someone you know fallen for or shared fake or inaccurate news of some kind?
- Why does it matter if we can’t tell real news from fake news?
Schulten, Katherine and Amanda Christy Brown. "Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning About Fake News." New York Times: Lesson Plans, January 19, 2017.
Courtesy Joe Dator, The New Yorker.
Specifically Addressing Fake News
Key Observations to Identifying Fake News:
