How to know if you can trust a news source
We’re all getting news from so many places—your feed, social media, podcasts, or even random links friends send. But how do you know if it’s legit?
Here are a few easy ways to tell if a news source is reliable:
Look it up. Do a quick search on the news outlet. What’s their reputation? Who owns them, and where does their money come from? Do they follow any kind of editorial rules?
Read the article carefully. Does it use credible sources and offer more than one perspective, or is it super one-sided? And is it marked as news or just someone’s opinion?
Pay attention to the headline and visuals. Does it seem like clickbait or something designed to mess with your emotions? Ask yourself if it’s trying too hard to make you feel something.
Check other sources. Are other reputable outlets talking about the same story? Compare details across different sites to see if it lines up. Also, think about your own perspective—your personal biases could affect how you see the story.
Use fact-checking sites. Websites like Snopes, FactCheck.org, or PolitiFact are great for fact-checking. Ground News is also helpful to see where bias might show up.
And while bias charts like AllSides or Ad Fontes can be useful, they’re not perfect. Just because something is in the middle doesn’t mean it’s always the most accurate—look at how well the story is actually reported.
So, how do you make sure the news you’re getting is legit? Do you have any go-to methods or sites you trust? Let us know!
Additional resource: News Literacy Project
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