Research Guides : Fake News and Finding Reliable Sources: Fact Checking

Fact Checkers

The Internet has a wealth of information but it can also be used to spread false information. Try some of these fact checkers to double check information you find on the Internet.

FactCheck.org Monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.
Media Bias/Fact Check Fact checks media bias and other fact checkers. Very reputable.
Politifact Non-partisan fact-checking website from the Tampa Bay Times journalists that focuses on political claims made in the US. Rates accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics.
Snopes Started as a source for debunking urban legends and other misconceptions, it's now grown into the oldest and largest fact-checking site on the Internet. Widely regarded by journalists and others as one of the world’s essential resources.
Fact Checker - Washington Post This is a fact-checking operation, not an opinion-checking operation. We are interested only in verifiable facts, though on occasion we may examine the roots of political rhetoric.
Poynter Poynter is the home of the International Fact-Checking Network. This section collects all our fact-checking articles.
Sunlight Foundation The Sunlight Foundation is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses civic technology, open data, policy analysis and journalism to make our government and politics more accountable and transparent to all. Our vision is for technology to enable more complete, equitable and effective democratic participation. Our overarching goal is to achieve changes in the law to require real-time, online transparency for all government information. And, while our work began in 2006 with only a focus on the U.S. Congress, our open government work now takes place at the local, state, federal and international levels.
OpenSecrets OpenSecrets,pursues it's mission largely through our award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, which is the most comprehensive resource for federal campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available anywhere. And for other organizations and news media, the Center's exclusive data powers their online features tracking money in politics - counting cash to make change. Our OpenSecrets Blog features newsbreaking original reporting about money-in-politics, including the sort of investigative work that won the Society of Professional Journalists' 2013 award for Public Service in Online Journalism. The Center relies on financial support from a combination of institutional grants, individual contributions and income earned from custom research and licensing data for commercial use.

Types of misleading sites

Hoax sites
- Tend to be totally fake
Satire or Humorous sites
- The Onion is an example
Hyperpartisan sites
- Can be be biased, only show one side of the issue
Hybrid sites
- Mix real news with fake, can be misleading
Lies via statistics
- Look for 'apple to oranges' comparisons, for example
Marketing and advertising
- They might not be balanced

Presentation

Fake News Presentation