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Here students can view additional lessons and facts on reliable sources and play 3 News Literacy Games to practice spotting fake news!

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Over the past year, hoaxes and unsubstantiated reports often have been perceived as fact. Fake news stories have been shared millions of times on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, where youth are most likely to get their news. The people who shared the fake news often did not realize it was fake.

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Includes  definitions and examples of :
-Primary Sources, secondary , and tertiary sources
-5 criteria for identifying credible sources (authority, currency, content, accuracy, bias)
-Guide for selecting resource based on information need
-Credible dictionaries
-Evaluation of book types and needs
- Website URL credibility
.org registered organization
.edu educational institution
.gov government agency
-discuss bias and its effect on credibility

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As a university student, you are expected to use credible sources in your assessments and course work. A credible source is one that is written by someone who is an expert in their discipline and is free of errors and bias. This guide explains the difference between credible, scholarly and peer-reviewed sources.

Primary, secondary & tertiary sources

Primary, secondary and tertiary resources provide different types of information. A brief overview is below.

Primary sources are first-hand accounts at the time of an event, and items that communicate original research, thought or opinion.

e.g. original research articles, literary works, podcasts, diaries, census and statistics.

Secondary sources are second-hand accounts of an event or topic. They provide analysis, discussion or review of primary materials.

e.g. journal articles (e.g. review articles), newspaper articles and books.

Tertiary sources combine primary and secondary sources. They have often been condensed and rewritten in a more explanatory form.

e.g. textbooks, fact books, almanacs, dictionaries and encyclopaedias.

How to identify credible sources

There are five criteria to consider when evaluating information:

The term ' fake news' has become very popular in the last few years, but what does it really mean? Visit Evaluate your sources to learn more.

© University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia | ABN 28 441 859 157 | CRICOS Provider No. 01595D

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Guides: What are credible sources?: Fact checking

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Share this with students to evaluate the credibility of their sources when researching

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Evaluating Websites   (for Elementary students)

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1. Context- Who wrote the article? When?
2. Credibility- Does the website have a good reputation? How about the author?
3. Construction- Does the information have a bias? Propaganda techniques?
4. Corrobortion- Check other reliable sources to see if they have published similar reports. Always Check multiple sources!
5. Compare- Compare to other sources for different perspectives to get a wider perspective.

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Subscribe to YouTube Channel
I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class. Students created videos, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs with the goal of sharing their work with an authentic audience. On the surface, this might not seem all that practical. After all, newspapers are slashing their budgets and laying off staff. Why teach an elective class in a subject that doesn't connect to a decent job market?

But here's the thing: whether we feel like it or not, we are all citizen journalists. We are all researchers. We are all sharing information online and publishing it on social media. We are all curating and producing content even if only a fragment of the population creates videos, podcasts, or blog posts. Social media is a fusion of space (social) and publishing (medium). Although it can simply feel like a place to hang out, every social media platform uses elements of traditional media. Just look at the terms: subscribers, news feed, followers, publish.

The gatekeepers are gone, which means it is easier than ever to publish your work to the world. This is exciting. I get to write a blog a few times a week. I get to make sketchy videos and post them to and Facebook. I get to record a podcast. I love digital media.

But there's a cost. It's also easier than ever to spread misinformation. And fake news has become a real issue in recent times. Here's a disturbing trend from the last U.S. election:

We see this with students. According to a Stanford study, only 25% of high school students were able to identify an accurate news story when also given a fake one. Students also had a hard time distinguishing between real and fake photographs as well as authentic and staged videos.

Researchers used the words "bleak" and "dismaying" to describe it. But it's not going away anytime soon and that's a very real problem.

So, how do we fix it?

Well, here's a five-step process that I've used with students. A word of caution. It's not perfect and there are probably other models out there but I thought I would share it just in case you might want to use it. We call it the 5 C's of Critical Consuming.

The 5 C's of Critical Consuming.

#1: Context - Look at the context of the article. When was it written? Where does it come from? Have the events changed since then? Is there any new information that could change your perspective?

#2: Credibility - Check the credibility of the source. Does the site have a reputation for journalistic integrity? Does the author cite credible sources? Or is it satirical? Is it on a list of fake news sites? Is it actually an advertisement posing as a real news story?

#3: Construction. Analyze the construction of the article. What is the bias? Are there any loaded words? Any propaganda techniques? Any omissions that you should look out for? Can you distinguish between the facts and opinions? Or is it simply all speculation?

#4: Corroboration: Corroborate the information with other credible news sources. Make sure it's not the only source making the claim. If it is, there's a good chance it's actually not true.

#5: Compare: Compare it to other news sources to get different perspectives. Find other credible sources from other areas of the ideological or political spectrum to provide nuance and get a bigger picture of what's actually happening.

When we teach students media literacy, and they learn how to consume critically, they learn how to think critically. And critical thinking citizens are good for democracy. And that's good for everyone.

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Fake News is a Real Problem. Here's How Students Can Solve It.

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Subscribe to YouTube Channel I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class. Students created videos, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs with the goal of sharing their work with an authentic audience.

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Importance of finding reliable sources for students 

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Importance of finding reliable sources for students 

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How to Evaluate Sources for Reliability - Writing for Kids

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List of Credible Resources for students 

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List of Credible Resources for students 

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Government websites, credible authors, libraries, peer reviewed sources, and accurate journalism websites
Includes:
USData.gov
CDC
WHO
Science.gov
Brittanica
US Census Bureau

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Extensive List of Credibile Websites, Newspapers, Journals

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It is crucial that you use credible primary and secondary sources to ensure the validity of your academic research, but knowing which ones are credible can be difficult! Luckily, there are some tricks for helping you figure out if a source is credible, which we have outlined in our guide to evaluating sources using the CRAAP test.

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Use these sources for statistics, creating infographics, or for projects

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Visual messages are interpreted faster than textual ones at a mind-blowing rate of 60,000 times faster. Hence, infographics have quickly become a popular method for presenting detailed data.

While infographics are beautiful and efficient, they hold a strong responsibility of providing accurate data. To assist designers in digging up reliable data, we listed some of our go-to sites for information.

This is a great resource to start off with as it covers a variety of topics, including agriculture, climate, education, energy, and science and research.

The census covers every aspect of the population within the United States, from income, to demographics, to education. This is the resource to find demographic information for the different geographic regions in the United states.

Discover facts about the criminal justice system. This website's purpose is "to collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government."

With the mission of "unleashing the power of data and innovation to improve health," this site contains helpful information about medical practices and practitioners on both the federal and state level.

The reports and statistics provided on this website gives valuable insight into our country's physical activity, nutrition, and obesity.

Through their data and statistics collection, you'll find critical data impacting environmental issues, such as toxic waste inventory. This website hosts a ton of information about threats to the environment.

The Unicef site complies information regarding children and women. Some of the statistics are disheartening and staggering. But if you're creating an awareness infographic about violence against women and children, this is the site to visit.

The statistics page on the WHO website provides a wealth of information on health issues globally. Find resources on water sanitation, childhood weight levels, disease and infection and much more.

Mine through all the federal government education statistics at this site.This site also features neat interactive maps on educational testing statistics.

Anything you want to know about transportation and commuting within our country, the Bureau of Transporation Statistics is the source for your answers.

Learn about different cities and countries with this nifty site. You'll find statistics, population, weather, webcams, travel information for multiple places from all over the world.

Find weather forecasts and historical weather data. You may also locate global warming events and statistics on this site.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy." Anything pertaining to working conditions and labor demographics, this site will provide you with reliable information.

And Google saves the day again by providing a directory of official public statistics from the web. It's really easy to get lost with this directory as it has compiled fascinating information.

Here's an excerpt from the infographics course, How to Make an Infographic, that provides guidance on what to do with your collected data. The course is taught by the Lemonly team, a visual marketing firm based in South Dakota that specializes in infographics design.

Now that your data is gathered the third step is Discover. At this point we're looking to discover the story that our data will tell. A great infographic has great data, but we first must discover what makes the data great.

Here are things to look for in your data:

1. Trends - look for things that repeat or occur in a consistent format

2. History - observe change over time to see how data has evolved

3. Comparisons - one of the best things to do is compare point A to point B this will help emphasize the point you want to make

4. Scale - a great way to make comparisons is with scale to illustrate relationship between two data points

5. Outliers - if something looks strange or a data point is well outside of the others consider investigating it as there may be a unique story there

There is a good chance you may already know the data you want to use to tell your infographic story, but this list will help you get started.

If you would like to learn more about Lemonly's process in planning and executing an infographic design, you may enroll in their course here.

Get an inside look at different designers' creative processes for making quality infographics with Infographic Designers' Sketchbook by Steven Heller and Rick Landers. Instead of merely showing the finished products of these inspiring infographics, this guide reveals the private sketchbooks of more than 50 leading graphic designers and illustrators, offering a glimpse into their creative processes.

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14 Reliable Data Sources for Creating Infographics

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From the course: How to Create an Infographic Visual messages are interpreted faster than textual ones at a mind-blowing rate of 60,000 times faster. Hence, infographics have quickly become a popular method for presenting detailed data. While infographics are beautiful and efficient, they hold a strong responsibility of providing accurate data.

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The New York Times website designed for students/kids based articles

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Teach and learn with The Times: Resources for bringing the world into your classroom

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Trusted and loved by educators

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Authentic content from the most trusted resources for students

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1. Disinformation is  deliberate false information to harm a person, social group, organization, or a country.
2. Misinformation is false, but not intended to cause harm.
3. Mal information is accurate information shared to the public when it was not intended to be, such as private emails, photos, or secure information.

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How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation

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How do I spot fake news? – BBC What’s New

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Fact checking and fake news lesson plans - The ultimate teacher guide

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The internet comes with an overload of information. Though this is a benefit to most teachers and students, internet has a dark side.

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What is a reliable source? What is credible vs a material you should avoid? 

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What is a reliable source? What is credible vs a material you should avoid? 

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Largest library in the United States with books, media, and images all from trusted sources

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Civics for All of US Civics for All of US is the new education initiative from the National Archives that promotes civic literacy and engagement. DocsTeach Teach with documents using our online tool. Explore primary sources. Discover fun and engaging teaching activities. Create your own online or print activities for your students!

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Educators often think of the National Archives as a place with resources for teaching the secondary grades or even older students. But elementary age students can work with primary sources too!

When using any type of primary source, ask students to break it down in four steps:

1. Meet the Document

2. Observe its parts

3. Try to make sense of it

4. Use it as historical evidence

You can find downloadable worksheets that walk elementary students through these exact steps to analyze various types of primary sources at www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets. Worksheets are available for the following primary source types (PDF files):

You can find many primary sources to choose from on DocsTeach.org - our online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives.

We also have fun ways to engage kids in family history! You can download family trees and charts for kids of all ages at www.archives.gov/education/family-history.

Plus find instructions for making a "food family tree" based on family members' favorite foods!

For online history, civics, and primary source-analysis activities for K-5 students, check out DocsTeach. These resources focus on skills like sequencing and finding clues in historical objects, and topics like symbols and national monuments. You can ask students to work on them independently, or use them in a full-class or virtual meeting setting by sharing your screen and walking through activities together.

Find activities such as:

You can also schedule live online learning programs with National Archives staff to learn about voting, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and more.

These free, interactive programs for grades 3-5 feature primary sources and align to national standards:

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote

The Charters of Freedom: Building a More Perfect Union

The Constitution at Work: Elementary Edition

Superhero Bill of Rights!

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Educators often think of the National Archives as a place with resources for teaching the secondary grades or even older students. But elementary age students can work with primary sources too!

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You can still access the UC Berkeley Library's services and resources. Here's how.

Journalists and their Codes of Ethics

"Real news" is written by professional journalists who adhere to ethical guidelines for gathering and writing the news. Examples of journalistic codes of ethics:

Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics, including:

seek truth and report it

minimize harm

act independently

be accountable and transparent

see link for more details

NPR Standards of Journalism, including:

accuracy

fairness

completeness

honesty

independence

impartiality

transparency

accountability

respect

excellence

see link for more details

New York Times Code of Ethics, including:

and links to professional guideline documents

Finding Real News - Library Databases

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Library Guides: Real News/Fake News: Real News

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Skip to main content It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. You can still access the UC Berkeley Library's services and resources.

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Snopes is committed to fact-checking, investigative reports, and transparency with their readers to stop the spread of misinformation 

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Snopes is committed to fact-checking, investigative reports, and transparency with their readers to stop the spread of misinformation 

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The definitive Internet reference source for researching urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.

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Hoax-Slayer breaks down popular internet hoax. Great to share with kids as they are committed to never sharing inappropriate images  or articles on the website

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Hoax-Slayer breaks down popular internet hoax. Great to share with kids as they are committed to never sharing inappropriate images  or articles on the website

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Latest Email Hoaxes - Current Internet Scams - Hoax-Slayer

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Stay informed about the latest email hoaxes and scams by subscribing to the Hoax-Slayer Newsletter.

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Truth or Fiction is a website where users can post quick questions and have the claim evaluated by experts with  a simple True or False statement 

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Truth or Fiction is a website where users can post quick questions and have the claim evaluated by experts with  a simple True or False statement 

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Factcheck.org can be used to present a non biased view of United States politics. 

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Factcheck.org can be used to present a non biased view of United States politics. 

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One of my friends spent this past weekend working with her 2 nd grade daughter on a research project. While her daughter flew through the arts and crafts portion and was able to handwrite the "sloppy copy" of her presentation, she struggled when it came to typing the final draft. She didn't know where the period was. She didn't know how to use the shift key (and then declared that turning caps lock on and off was far superior and easier than using the shift key). Typing was taking a lot longer than expected and it was tiring her out. My friend ended up sharing the typing duties with her daughter (who had to dictate from her "sloppy copy").

This reminded me how easy it is to overestimate our students' abilities when it comes to technology. The general assumption is that they arrive in the world with an innate knowledge of how to operate all things digital. It's not until you work with students that you begin to see how much guidance and instruction they really need.

One of my favorite things to work on with students in this area is website evaluation. They all have a very strong belief that they know how and where to find any information they need online. Almost all of my students arrive at my school with one simple rule for choosing online sources: Don't use Wikipedia. This has been drilled into them by almost every teacher who has assigned them a research project. But beyond that, they tend to assume that if it's online, it must be true.

When working with older students (8 th through 12 th grade), I've always relied on the CRAAP Test (pdf) from California State University Chico. And I will admit I enjoy starting a lesson by telling them, "Today's class is going to be CRAAP-tastic" (especially if my supervisor is observing me for that class).

As wonderful a tool as it is, the CRAAP Test has a sophistication (despite its name) that makes it inaccessible for the 5 th through 7 th grade. I wanted something easier for them.

(Perhaps at this point I should pause to let you know that my school, while co-ed, is predominantly boys - they make up about 88% of our student population. And sometimes lesson planning is all about knowing your audience.)

So in the middle school Information Skills class, we now teach the FART Test. Needless to say, when the idea is first introduced we lose about 5 minutes of class to giggles and various fart noises. But then we can get down to the serious business of evaluation.

F: Is the site Friendly to the eyes? Is it easy to read? Did the creator take time to make a well designed website? Is the site free of lots of flashy things that distract you from the text? If someone doesn't bother to present the information in a neat fashion, the information may not be worth using.

A: Does the Author have Authority? Is he an expert on the issue? Does the author identify herself and give you a way to contact her and ask a question? If someone doesn't bother to take credit for his work, that may be a sign that he doesn't want to be connected to it.

R: Is the information Repeated elsewhere? Does the author cite her sources so you can verify her information? If you find the most fascinating tidbit of information, but only one person claims to know it, and can't tell you where she learned that, and no other source confirms it, it's probably not a piece of information you want to use.

T: Is the information Timely? When was the information published? Is your topic time sensitive? Has the website been updated recently? Old information doesn't help with current issue research and websites that have been abandoned may not be the best sources.

Finally, you have to ask yourself, does something smell bad about this site?

The nice thing about the FART Test is that it pretty well slides in the CRAAP Test as the students get older. It's something the students remember easily. Each year I start the year off by having the returning 8 th grade students teach the concept to new students who have joined their class. They make posters to hang in the middle school classrooms as a reminder that web evaluation belongs everywhere, not just in the library. It's a great refresher and an ice breaker.

What fun lessons do you go to for web evaluation?

Categories: Blog Topics, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models

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Web Evaluation: Does This Website Smell Funny to You? | Knowledge Quest

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One of my friends spent this past weekend working with her 2nd grade daughter on a research project. While her daughter flew through the arts and crafts portion and was able to handwrite the "sloppy copy" of her presentation, she... Read More ›

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Allsides is committed to unbiased news. 

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Allsides is committed to unbiased news. 

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AllSides Headline Roundups™ bring you top news stories from the left, center and right of the political spectrum - side-by-side so you can see the full picture.

We rotate the order of headlines to avoid biasing our coverage in favor of the left, which otherwise would always be listed first.

Learn how AllSides provides balanced news

MSNBC (Left bias) announced it's canceling opinion commentator Mehdi Hasan's Sunday night show on Thursday, drawing opinions from journalists and media outlets. For Context: Hasan is known...

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AllSides | Balanced news via media bias ratings for an unbiased news perspective

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We use media bias ratings to provide balanced news, perspectives and issues across the political spectrum. Unbiased news coverage doesn't exist - there is no such thing as unbiased news or t

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Create Your Own Fake News Newspaper Clipping Activity 

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Create Your Own Fake News Newspaper Clipping Activity 

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Make a newspaper clipping with your own headline and story. Surprise friends and colleagues, send a birthday greeting or give your next blog post a special look.

To download your newspaper, use the link at the bottom of the generated image. You can use the images as you wish ie. put them on your own website or blog. Please note, that direct linking to the newspaper clippings doesn't work; the images are deleted from the server after a short time span.

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Make a newspaper clipping with your own headline and story. Surprise friends and colleagues, send a birthday greeting or give your next blog post a special look.

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Are we really in a post-truth era? Somebody on the Internet said so. Many people, actually.

The presidential campaign was filled with falsehoods. Our president-elect no longer poses as a truth-teller: Aides and supporters say we should not take him literally. That's good for him, since he endorsed a conspiracy theory that cast doubt on his own election. (Remember? He claimed without evidence that there were "millions" of illegal voters, who, if they did exist, might have swung the election to him.) Fake news stories about a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant prompted a real person to "investigate" with a rifle in early December.

But let's properly define the problem. History and experience tell me it's not a post-truth era: Facts have always been hard to separate from falsehoods, and political partisans have always made it harder. It's better to call this a post- trust era.

Business, government, churches and the media have fallen in public esteem. These institutions paid a price for an entire generation of wars, scandals, economic convulsions and cynical politics. We're left with fewer traditional guideposts for whom to believe. The spread of fake news from fraudulent sources is only a symptom: The larger problem is that many Americans doubt what governments or authorities tell them, and also dismiss real news from traditional sources.

Hazardous as the post-trust era may be, it shouldn't cause despair. It's all right for Americans to be skeptical of what they read and hear. How could I say otherwise? I'm a journalist. It's my job to question what I hear. While I shouldn't cynically dismiss everything people tell me, I should ask for evidence and avoid buying into bogus narratives. Being a skeptical reporter has made me a more skeptical news consumer.

What we all need, as citizens, is to develop more skill in applying our skepticism. We need to spot false narratives, and also turn aside those who would replace them with pure fiction. Either we get this right or we cease to be free citizens.

Propagandists obviously have fun (and profit from) trying to con us, the public. Why not have fun smoking them out? You can apply this advice not only in hunting for totally fake stories, but also in testing out the stories on more or less fact-based websites or traditional TV and newspapers. (Even NPR.)

In general, traditional news organizations are more reliable because their business model is to paint the clearest picture of the world that they can manage. But in the post-trust era, we know that any news source can steer you wrong at times, and they're likely all jumbled together in your news feed anyway.

So here's a finder's guide for facts:

First, take a moment. If you have time to scroll Facebook or watch the news, you probably have a moment to decide if a news story seems credible. Ask some quick questions:

Is the story so outrageous you can't believe it? Maybe you shouldn't. Respect the voice inside you that says, "What?"

Is the story so outrageous you do believe it? That's also a warning sign. Many stories play on your existing beliefs. If the story perfectly confirms your worst suspicions, look for more information.

Does the headline match the article? Many compelling headlines don't.

Does the article match the news story it's lifted from? Many sites rewrite other news articles to fit the political slant of their presumed audience. Look for links to original sources and click through and see what the original says.

Are quotes in context? Look for the sentences before and after the quote that makes your blood boil. If the article fails to give them, that's a warning sign.

Is the story set in the future? It's hard to get firsthand reporting from there. Any story that tells you what will happen should be marked down 50 percent for this reason alone.

Does the story attack a generic enemy? Vague denunciations of "Washington" or "the media" or "Trump supporters" or "the left" should be marked down 99 percent. Good reporting doesn't make these kinds of generalizations and is specific about who is making a claim about what.

Are you asked to rely on one killer factoid? Not a good idea. If a hacked document "proves" an implausible conspiracy, look for the context that shows what the document really means. As for photos and video, use Ronald Reagan's old slogan: trust but verify. If there's any doubt about a "stunning" video, see if more traditional sources link to it. They love video clicks as much as anyone. If they refrain, there may be good reason.

Who is the news source, anyway? Traditional news brands may occasionally get it wrong - sometimes hugely wrong - but at least you know where to find them and hold them accountable. Less prominent news sites might carry compelling stories - but expect them to show you who they are and where they gathered information.

Does the news source appear to employ editors? Many news organizations produce stories that are checked before publication. Others don't. It's a big deal. Hiring an editorial staff shows the publication's respect for you, and matters more than "political bias." The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, for example, have different owners, audiences, stories, perspectives and obsessions. Both have made mistakes and omissions; but both send reporters out into the world and back them up with an editorial process that catches and corrects many errors. This means both can be informative, regardless of your politics or theirs.

Are you told, "Trust me"? Don't. It's the post-trust era! Expect everyone to show where their facts come from, link to underlying articles, and demonstrate that they've argued honestly. Here's a way they may bolster their credibility:

Did the writer engage with anyone who disagrees? Did they call a senator whose legislation bugs them? Did they try to grasp what the president-elect was doing, or merely repeat one of his more outrageous statements? If it's a broadcast interview, was the guest presented with genuine opposing views and challenged to answer? Those who wrestle with opposing arguments do you a service and often improve their own arguments.

These simple questions should take you a long way toward judging the value of a news story. While applying such questions to any given story, you can also take a few more general steps:

Broaden your palate. Make a point to check sites that do not agree with your politics. You may discover stories that are wrong - but you'll know what other people are consuming, which will sharpen your own thinking.

Be open to the idea that some falsehoods are sincerely held. In spite of all the warnings here, some inaccurate news stories grow out of haste or misinformation rather than pure cynicism. (But they're still false.)

If a news source consistently passes the tests in this guide, support it. Gathering reliable information isn't free. Helping to pay for it aligns the news source's interests with yours.

If this guide helps you to find some reliable information, that's great - but remember one more thing: Never stop looking. Learning the truth is not a goal, but a process. As a journalist, I can never express everything in the world in a single day's program. The saving grace is tomorrow's program, when we try to do a little more. It is the same for me as a news consumer: I will always be learning more.

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Are we really in a post-truth era? Somebody on the Internet said so. Many people, actually. The presidential campaign was filled with falsehoods. Our president-elect no longer poses as a truth-teller: Aides and supporters say we should not take him literally. That's good for him, since he endorsed a conspiracy theory that cast doubt on his own election.

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Fake News Quizzes for students!

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Join a game of kahoot here. Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn - any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!

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One of my friends spent this past weekend working with her 2 nd grade daughter on a research project. While her daughter flew through the arts and crafts portion and was able to handwrite the "sloppy copy" of her presentation, she struggled when it came to typing the final draft. She didn't know where the period was. She didn't know how to use the shift key (and then declared that turning caps lock on and off was far superior and easier than using the shift key). Typing was taking a lot longer than expected and it was tiring her out. My friend ended up sharing the typing duties with her daughter (who had to dictate from her "sloppy copy").

This reminded me how easy it is to overestimate our students' abilities when it comes to technology. The general assumption is that they arrive in the world with an innate knowledge of how to operate all things digital. It's not until you work with students that you begin to see how much guidance and instruction they really need.

One of my favorite things to work on with students in this area is website evaluation. They all have a very strong belief that they know how and where to find any information they need online. Almost all of my students arrive at my school with one simple rule for choosing online sources: Don't use Wikipedia. This has been drilled into them by almost every teacher who has assigned them a research project. But beyond that, they tend to assume that if it's online, it must be true.

When working with older students (8 th through 12 th grade), I've always relied on the CRAAP Test (pdf) from California State University Chico. And I will admit I enjoy starting a lesson by telling them, "Today's class is going to be CRAAP-tastic" (especially if my supervisor is observing me for that class).

As wonderful a tool as it is, the CRAAP Test has a sophistication (despite its name) that makes it inaccessible for the 5 th through 7 th grade. I wanted something easier for them.

(Perhaps at this point I should pause to let you know that my school, while co-ed, is predominantly boys - they make up about 88% of our student population. And sometimes lesson planning is all about knowing your audience.)

So in the middle school Information Skills class, we now teach the FART Test. Needless to say, when the idea is first introduced we lose about 5 minutes of class to giggles and various fart noises. But then we can get down to the serious business of evaluation.

F: Is the site Friendly to the eyes? Is it easy to read? Did the creator take time to make a well designed website? Is the site free of lots of flashy things that distract you from the text? If someone doesn't bother to present the information in a neat fashion, the information may not be worth using.

A: Does the Author have Authority? Is he an expert on the issue? Does the author identify herself and give you a way to contact her and ask a question? If someone doesn't bother to take credit for his work, that may be a sign that he doesn't want to be connected to it.

R: Is the information Repeated elsewhere? Does the author cite her sources so you can verify her information? If you find the most fascinating tidbit of information, but only one person claims to know it, and can't tell you where she learned that, and no other source confirms it, it's probably not a piece of information you want to use.

T: Is the information Timely? When was the information published? Is your topic time sensitive? Has the website been updated recently? Old information doesn't help with current issue research and websites that have been abandoned may not be the best sources.

Finally, you have to ask yourself, does something smell bad about this site?

The nice thing about the FART Test is that it pretty well slides in the CRAAP Test as the students get older. It's something the students remember easily. Each year I start the year off by having the returning 8 th grade students teach the concept to new students who have joined their class. They make posters to hang in the middle school classrooms as a reminder that web evaluation belongs everywhere, not just in the library. It's a great refresher and an ice breaker.

What fun lessons do you go to for web evaluation?

Categories: Blog Topics, Student Engagement/ Teaching Models

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Web Evaluation: Does This Website Smell Funny to You? | Knowledge Quest

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One of my friends spent this past weekend working with her 2nd grade daughter on a research project. While her daughter flew through the arts and crafts portion and was able to handwrite the "sloppy copy" of her presentation, she... Read More ›

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Arriving as a new employee to Snopes in fall 2018, I discovered that this storied fact-checking operation, a household name in the fight against "fake news," preferred to avoid using the term "fake news."

"Ok ...," I Slacked.

Nevermind the phrase raining down in conversations with friends and waterfalling over comment threads I monitor for Snopes. I wasn't ready to argue with my new bosses. I opened my umbrella and carried on.

According to one archive, President Donald Trump has tweeted the phrase "fake news" more than 450 times as president. Often in his tweets "fake news" stands proxy as a vague noun that lets him impugn whole industries of journalists at once, including you know who:

The more I wrote around the phrase "fake news" in my work writing social media posts and other Snopes copy, the more bizarre it felt. Like we'd stripped "giant" from David's style guide.

Speaking of Davids, founder of Snopes.com David Mikkelson pointed out to me that Snopes was using the term "fake news" long before Trump was employing it as a near-daily insult. In fact, many people were. As Merriam-Webster observed, "'Fake news' is a new term. That means it's only about 125 years old."

For a while around 2013-14, Snopes and others in the fact-checking industry understood and used "fake news" narrowly, to refer specifically to (the relatively small) set of websites that intentionally pumped out fabricated stories for laughs, for lucrative clicks, or for other reasons we may never understand. Whatever the motive, the content produced by these sites was often so absurd you (almost) did not need a fact-checker to point out it was fake.

For example:

Things change.

More than one recent Snopes investigation has uncovered clandestine and coordinated efforts by entities pretending to be something they are not online. And their actions appear to be politically motivated.

Meanwhile, the prevalence of "deepfake" videos is raising alarm about how even savvy users can be fooled by deceptively altered and edited content.

And of course, "fake news" is a feared threat to elections worldwide. One of the first things despots do in democratic societies, Snopes managing editor Doreen Marchionni sometimes reminds us, is to demonize journalists. Take down the journalists - in print, in broadcast, online or on social platforms - and so goes democracy.

In a recent interview, journalist Maria Ressa criticized social media platforms for failing to accept their responsibility in the spread of misinformation and disinformation. "They broke democracy," she told CBS News.

Not surprisingly, as the implications of "fake news" have shifted, so too has the definition.

When "fake news" was introduced to Dictionary.com in 2017, Time magazine was already noting there was more than to the phrase than was captured in its recorded definition.

Craig Silverman, a media editor for BuzzFeed News who has been credited with helping to mainstream the phrase, wrote that he came to cringe at it:

The end of "fake news" as I knew it came on Jan. 11, 2017, when Donald Trump - master of branding - redefined the term to mean, effectively, news reports he didn't like. The previous day CNN and BuzzFeed News had reported on the existence of the Steele dossier. [...]

Political movements around the world recognized the genius of Trump's tactic and adopted it. Now, "fake news" is a global phrase uttered by leaders and citizens alike. It's emblazoned on T-shirts, used in memes, abused as a hashtag. It's never been more ubiquitous and, as a result, more confused and manipulated.

He wasn't alone. Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan had already called for the term's retirement altogether, arguing its meaning had been lost:

"Instead, call a lie a lie," Sullivan advised. "Call a hoax a hoax. Call a conspiracy theory by its rightful name. After all, 'fake news' is an imprecise expression to begin with."

This was also my boss' contention with the phrase. "Information doesn't necessarily have to be fake or false to qualify as 'fake news,'" Mikkelson explained.

One "fake news" creator in Macedonia confirmed as much to the BBC:

"That thing happened, the people were there, the place was there. So it was never fake stories" in the sense of fabricating every detail. "It was propaganda and brainwashing in the way of telling the story."

The contradiction doesn't seem to trip up readers. According to a 2017 Gallup/Knight Foundation Survey on Trust, Media and Democracy:

Americans themselves have not reached a clear consensus on what constitutes "fake news." Most adults agree that false information portrayed as if it were true always (48%) or sometimes (46%) deserves the label "fake news." Strikingly, most Americans also say that accurate stories portraying politicians in a negative light always (28%) or sometimes (51%) constitutes "fake news."

"Fake news" evolved to signify not a measure of a claim's veracity but, rather, its potential for challenging one's preferred perception.

As The Atlantic noted in an analysis of a 2019 Pew Research Center study, there can be a consequence to perceiving information as threatening:

While nearly six in 10 Democrats have dropped an outlet over perceived fake news, a full 70 percent of Republicans have. A much larger portion of Republicans has also reduced their overall consumption of news. The less politically aware are also 20 percent more likely to have reduced their overall consumption of news than the more politically aware - meaning that people who were already acquiring the least information are now acquiring even less.

At Snopes we strive to contribute information to public discourse, not subtract from it. If "fake news" can no longer reliably signal whether a piece of reporting is trustworthy, and instead behaves like a rhetorical middle finger, it doesn't have a place in our work.

So what to say instead?

AP Stylebook suggests alternatives such as "false reports," which misses the point for our purposes. Again, information doesn't have to be "false" to be considered "fake news" in common parlance. A "big person" does not a "giant" make.

Mikkelson favored "junk news" as a more useful label. And he pointed me to an interesting rationale explained by Centre for Internet and Society researcher Tommaso Venturini:

So, if "fake news" is not about false information, what is it about? ... spread, rather than fakeness, is the birthmark of these contents that should be called "viral news" or possibly "junk news" for, just as junk food, they are consumed because they are addictive, not because they are appreciated.

This is not to argue engaging with misinformation is not tantamount to indulging in the occasional cheeseburger. Rather, it seems logical that a media diet that favors junk would have consequences, just as a real diet that has an excess of sodium and fat. Venturini again:

'Junk news' is dangerous not because it is false, but because it saturates public debate, leaving little space to other discussions, reducing the richness of public debate and preventing more important stories from being heard.

In other words, the threat of junk news lies in the absence of what it's displacing: actual information.

In a 2017 report on "Information Disorder," researchers Claire Wardle and Hossein Derakhshan recommended several steps for tackling the problems of all manner of misinformation. Number one on that list?

1. Definitions. Think more critically about the language we use so we can effectively capture the complexity of the phenomenon

Put another way: "Media literacy works, and it just might save humanity," according to Columbia Journalism Review.

Back to that Pew study:

"Of the 52% of Americans who say they have shared made-up news themselves, a vast majority of them said they didn't know it was made up when they did so."

This highlights the challenge: We cannot fight what we cannot see. We cannot change what we cannot name.

By using the phrase "junk news," we aim to emphasize the distinction between misinformation and content created purposely to deceive.

More precision, not less, is key if we want to understand better and be better understood.

Most useful of all, by using "junk news" we can clearly signal such content's best possible destination:

The trash.

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'Fake News': Why Snopes Prefers Not to Say It Anymore | Snopes.com

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Arriving as a new employee to Snopes in fall 2018, I discovered that this storied fact-checking operation, a household name in the fight against "fake news," preferred to avoid using the term "fake news." "Ok ...," I Slacked. Nevermind the phrase raining down in conversations with friends and waterfalling over comment threads I monitor for Snopes.