Library Learning Commons Orientation: Assess Information

Adapted from: NPR - "Fake Or Real? How To Self-Check The News And Get The Facts" (Dec. 5, 2016)

1. Read the "About Us" section.

Which company/organization created it? Who are their members and what are their beliefs? This can show a possible bias/self-interest affecting what information is included on the website.

2. Look at who is quoted on the website.

Are they experts from trustworthy organizations (professors from universities, government officials)?

3. Pay attention to the domain and URL

Established news organizations usually own their domains and they have a standard look that you are probably familiar with, for example, abc.com. But if they end in unfamiliar domains such as com.co. then this should cause you to stop and take another look to make sure that it is a legitimate news source/website. 

4. Look at the quotes in the story

Most good news stories have quotes based on experts in the field and their research on the subject. If they speak about their research, look up those studies.

5. Look at who said the quote

Do a quick Google search and see if you can find the quote. Check to make see when the quote when taken from was, who he /she was addressing, and what it was about.  

6. Reverse image search

If the image is appearing on a lot of stories about many different topics, there's a good chance it's not actually an image of what it says it is in the story that you may be looking at. To check an image, right-click on it and choose to search Google for it.

Websites for Students to Assess