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Confirm the accuracy of scientific or health claims made online sing Sci Check. The site contains videos, articles and additional resources
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FactCheck.org's SciCheck feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015 with a grant from the Stanton Foundation. The foundation was founded by the late Frank Stanton, president of CBS for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971.

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Put your information literacy skills to the test with this Newsfeed Defenders game. Do your best to identify and define problematic headlines, vocabulary or stories.

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Our new media literacy game teaches players how to detect and disregard disinformation and misinformation in today's chaotic environment.

Learning Objectives

Identify markers of verification, transparency, accountability, and independence in news stories.

Define and identify problematic news items, and other news-related types of misinformation.

Explain a variety of strategies to verify images and information.

Evaluate text for bias based on word choices and framing methods.

Use third-party information to judge the credibility of a source.

Evaluate the benefits and challenges of digital news and social media to a democratic society.

Teacher Extension Pack

Make your students' gameplay more meaningful by using our activity and assessment set designed specifically for NewsFeed Defender. This easy-to-use Extension Pack helps you give context and purpose to the game, as well as reinforce and assess the game concepts. That means deeper learning for students and best practices around game-centered learning for you.

Extension Packs require PowerPoint and are designed for use with projectors or interactive whiteboards.

Download the Teacher Extension Pack

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NewsFeed Defenders Our new media literacy game teaches players how to detect and disregard disinformation and misinformation in today's chaotic environment. Additional Resources Lesson Plan How to Flag Fake News on Facebook Misinformation Directory How to Spot Fake News (video) How to Spot Fake News (article) Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play Learning Objectives Identify markers of verification, transparency, accountability, and independence in news stories.

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BBC Verify fact checks world news stories and events. The site presents the evidence and facts to allow you to determine the truth.

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The general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) told BBC Breakfast that the government had "slashed the schools building budget".

"Total under-investment over the past 13 years stands at £34.8bn", Daniel Kebede said.

The NEU says if that budget had been held at the level set in last few years of the Labour government and kept up with rising prices, it would have averaged about £2.7bn more each year - or a total of almost £35bn over the 13-year period.

This figure doesn't just cover schools but also nurseries, universities and the department itself, as well as other investments such as IT systems.

The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies told us that it is fair to say that this type of spend has fallen since 2010.

The Department for Education's own records also suggest that it has led to "under-investment" in repair and rebuilding, although not by as much as claimed by the NEU.

Back in 2020, the department said it needed £4bn a year over five years to start to bring schools up to scratch, and even more after that, once school rebuilding programmes get under way.

However, they have been given less: only £3 billion a year for the past two years.

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Snopes debunks all sorts of internet rumors from viral social media videos to political news. Snope links its sources throughout each article to connect users with more information about each story.

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

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Politifact verifies political statements and facts. The site produces a truth-o-meter and provides short bullet-pointed summaries at the start of each article for rapid fact-checking.

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Fact-checking journalism is the heart of PolitiFact. Our core principles are independence, transparency, fairness, thorough reporting and clear writing. The reason we publish is to give citizens the information they need to govern themselves in a democracy.

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PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others on its Truth-O-Meter.

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Allsides takes trending news stories or topics and shows you the perspective of the left, right, and center media.

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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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Did that person really say that? This question can be answered by searching the quote investigator site with the quote. The cite will provide you with evidence and citations proving the origin of a quote.

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Anne Tyler? Lee Smith? C. S. Lewis? George R. R. Martin? Louis L'Amour? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent author disclosed a fascinating insight into her prime motivation for writing novels. She desired to live more than one life. Would you please help me to identify this author and find a citation?

I write because I want more than one life; I insist on a wider selection. It's greed, plain and simple. When my characters join the circus, I'm joining the circus. Although I am happily married, I spend a great deal of time mentally living with incompatible husbands.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: I Write Because I Want More Than One Life"

Elon Musk? Ruly Carpenter? Stanley Kroll? Leo Fuld? Alan Young? Phil Silvers? Joey Adams? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A family of jokes emphasizes the unforgiving economics of risky or expensive activities. Here are four examples:

(1) How do you make a small fortune in social media? Start out with a large one.

(2) The surest way to make a small fortune in the commodity market is to start with a large one.

(3) To leave a casino with a small fortune you should arrive with a big one.

(4) You can end up with a small fortune in the winery business provided you start out with a large fortune.

Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The first example above occurred in an x-twitter message from Elon Musk dated November 17, 2022.

TODAY'S BEST LAUGH: Leo Fuld, the Dutch singer who's become a big hit in England, asks: "Know how to go to England on a visit and leave with a small fortune? ... Go there with a large fortune."

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: How Do You Make a Small Fortune in a Risky Domain? Start With a Large Fortune"

Arthur Ashe? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A famous tennis player once discussed the topic of valor. He stated that heroism was not based on a desire to surpass others, but on a desire to serve others. A statement like this has been attributed to Arthur Ashe. Would you please help me to find a citation?

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost," Arthur Ashe told the Ohio Wesleyan University class of 1991 in his commencement address.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: True Heroism is Not the Urge To Surpass All Others At Whatever Cost, But the Urge To Serve Others At Whatever Cost"

Hubert Mewhinney? Sam Kinch? ‎Stuart Long? Adam J. Schiffer? Jack Z. Smith? Rick Sanchez? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Journalists are taught to value fairness and objectivity. If there are two sides to an issue then fairness demands that both sides should be presented in an article. Yet, sometimes only one side makes sense. The other side is deceptive or delusional. Unfortunately, a timid journalist may be reluctant to express a strong stance.

The proper attitude of a good journalist can be summarized with a parable. If one person says it is raining and another person says it is not raining then a journalist should not simply quote them both. Instead, a journalist should look outside to ascertain the truth and relay it to the public.

Would you please explore the origin of this parable?

It was designed as a criticism of the then current attitude of Texas newspapers-that you quote what the man says, and that's all.

"If Jimmy Allred says it's raining, and W. Lee O'Daniel says it isn't raining." Mewhinney wrote. "Texas newspapermen quote them both, and don't look out the window to see which is lying, and to tell the readers what the truth is at the moment."

Mewhinney's tale clearly suggested that a good journalist should look out the window and report the truth. QI has not yet been able to search an archive of the "Texas Spectator" in the 1940s. So QI has not verified the presence of text above in a specific newspaper issue.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: If One Person Says It's Raining and Another Says It's Not Raining Then the Journalist Should Look Out the Window and Report the Truth"

Joey Adams? Yip Harburg? Evan Esar? Judge Magazine? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A loving kiss is wonderful, but it should be with the right person. A deceptive kiss is perilous.

A family of quips about the dangers of osculation uses a rhetorical device called antimetabole. Words in the first half of a statement are reordered in the second half. Here are two instances:

(1) Never let a fool kiss you, and never let a kiss fool you.
(2) She let that fool kiss her; even worse she let that kiss fool her.

This joke has been attributed to U.S. comedian Joey Adams and U.S. lyricist Yip Harburg. I have not found a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in the New York humor magazine "Judge" in September 1927 without attribution. Boldface added to excepts by QI:1

Advice to Damsels- Never let a fool kiss you and never let a kiss fool you.

Thus, an editor at "Judge" crafted this joke or heard this joke from an unnamed contributor.

During the ensuing decades other humorists have employed this jest. For example, Joey Adams included the quip in a 1961 compilation, and Yip Harburg placed the joke into a 1965 compilation.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: Never Let a Fool Kiss You, and Never Let a Kiss Fool You"

Vincent van Gogh? Joni Mitchell? Justin Lee Collins? Nellie Hermann? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A personal website enables an artist to achieve inexpensive worldwide distribution of a large digital portfolio. Yet, the greatest challenge for an artist today is convincing others to pay attention to their artworks.

In the late nineteenth century an artist who later became famous experienced this same problem of bleak obscurity. The artist lamented that there was a great fire in his soul, but others were unaware. No one chose to warm themselves at this fire. This notion has been attributed to the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Do our inner thoughts ever show outwardly? There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney, and go along their way.

Look here, now, what must be done? Must one tend that inner fire, have salt in oneself, wait patiently yet with how much impatience for the hour when somebody will come and sit down near it-maybe to stay? Let him who believes in God wait for the hour that will come sooner or later.

The mention of salt corresponds to the biblical verse Mark 9:50. In this case, it means energizing oneself and persevering.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: There May Be a Great Fire In Our Soul, Yet No One Ever Comes To Warm Themselves At It. Passers-By See Only a Wisp of Smoke from a Chimney"

Mignon McLaughlin? Derric Johnson? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A clever author once compared the unfulfilled potential of a human to a three-way light fixture which contains a one-way light bulb that never shines with its maximum luminance. Would you please help me to determine the name of the author who crafted this simile?

Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not permanent.
We are all such a waste of our potential, like three-way lamps using one-way bulbs.
The know-nothings are, unfortunately, seldom the do-nothings.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: We Are All Such a Waste of Our Potential, Like Three-Way Lamps Using One-Way Bulbs"

Matthew Yglesias? William Deresiewicz? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: Predicting the technological future is extremely difficult. In 2007 Amazon corporation introduced the Kindle ebook reader, and ebooks grew rapidly in popularity during the following years. Commentators envisioned dramatic upheavals in the book world.

One influential pundit projected that publishers were going to be wiped out. This imminent development was depicted favorably. Would you please help me to find a citation?

This brings months of sniping to an end, but the structural conflict between publishers and the retail giant isn't going away. And here's a little real talk about the book publishing industry - it adds almost no value, it is going to be wiped off the face of the earth soon, and writers and readers will be better off for it.

The fundamental uselessness of book publishers is why I thought it was dumb of the Department of Justice to even bother prosecuting them for their flagrantly illegal cartel behavior a couple of years back ...

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: The Book Publishing Industry Is Going To Be Wiped Off the Face of the Earth Soon"

Albert Schweitzer? Jim Valvano? Erica Anderson? C. T. Campion? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Maintaining a high level of enthusiasm and motivation is difficult. Sometimes our inner fire starts to sputter. Happily, this fire can be reignited by an experience with another person. We owe that person our deep thanks.

Apparently, Alsatian physician and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer said something like this, but I have been unable to find a citation. Would you please help?

As a rule there are in everyone all sorts of good ideas, ready like tinder. But much of this tinder catches fire, or catches it successfully, only when it meets some flame or spark from outside, i.e. from some other person. Often, too, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by some experience we go through with a fellow-man. Thus we have each of us cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flames within us.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: Sometimes Our Inner Fire Goes Out. Another Person Rekindles It and Deserves Our Deepest Gratitude"

Victor Hugo? Émile Souvestre? Gustave Aimard? Frederic C. Howe? Ralph Waldo Trine? Benjamin Disraeli? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: An idea can transform a culture and catalyze historical changes. Here are three expressions from a family of pertinent sayings:

(1) Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.
(2) Nothing can stand against the idea whose time has come.
(3) No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come.

Sayings of this type have been attributed to the famous French novelist Victor Hugo, but I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic.

Tout le phénomène actuel est dans ces quelques mots. On résiste à l'invasion des armées; on ne résiste pas à l'invasion des idées.

Here is one possible translation:

The whole current phenomenon is summed up in these few words. An invasion of armies can be resisted; an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted.

Or, dans toute question humaine, il y a quelque chose de plus puissant que la force, que le courage, que le génie même: c'est l'idée dont le temps est venu.

Here is one possible translation:

Now, in every human question, there is something more powerful than strength, than courage, than genius itself: it is the idea whose time has come.

Souvestre was writing about the Chouannerie, a complex uprising in France. Souvestre believed that the forces he favored would ultimately prevail.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading "Quote Origin: Nothing Is More Powerful Than an Idea Whose Time Has Come"

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Anne Tyler? Lee Smith? C. S. Lewis? George R. R. Martin? Louis L'Amour? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent author disclosed a fascinating insight into her prime motivation for writing novels. She desired to live more than one life. Would you please help me to identify this author and find a citation?

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An article that breaks down why you see ads related to your recent searches everywhere and how to adjust privacy settings on your devices.

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Information overload? Leo Hidalgo, CC BY-NC

In today's mobile media environment, an incredible amount of information is available to every one of us, every minute of every day.

With our cell phones close by, we can easily search for answers to trivia questions, word definitions or find the perfect recipe for the confetti eggplant bought at the farmers' market. When traveling, we have instant access to the conversion rate between the euro and the dollar and can map directions to any location. And then there is all the personalized information posted by our Facebook friends.

So, how do we keep up with and understand the wide array of information? How do we integrate this into our lives as we participate in a connected world? And how do we make meaningful additions to these spaces as originators of information in the online venues that matter to us?

As researchers of library and information science, we use the term metaliteracy as a way to look at literacy in the social media age. Previously, the usage of the term metaliteracy was mostly in connection with literacy studies.

We expand the idea further in our book: Metaliteracy: Reinventing Information Literacy to Empower Learners. We use it as a way to recast information literacy for reflective learning with social media and emerging technologies.

So, what exactly is metaliteracy, as we define it?

Metaliterate mindset

To understand it, let's consider some common web-based situations that we encounter daily.

When browsing the web or scrolling Facebook, you may have noticed the ads that appear often align very closely to searches you've performed previously.

For instance, after searching for consumer products such as a new sofa, you probably encountered the same exact products and stores you originally sought out. At times, this might be just what you want. But after a while, it might start to feel a bit intrusive.

Yes, you can adjust your ad settings to increase the chances that relevant advertisements appear only when you are on Google sites such as YouTube. But did you also know that you can opt out of this feature?

Here is where metaliteracy comes into play.

A metaliterate learner would always dig deeper into the search process, ask good questions about sources of information, consider privacy and ethical issues, and reflect on the overall experience, while adapting to new technologies and platforms.

Filtering in a connected world

There is more going on here than we might think we know.

For instance, did you know that often the information we see online is being filtered for us, by someone else?

Google has been personalizing your search results since 2005 if you were signed in and had your web history enabled. If you were being cautious and didn't sign in, starting in 2009 they began using 180 days of your previous search activity to accomplish the same thing.

Google might call it personalizing, but others see it as constricting.

Patrick Barry, CC BY-SA

Information filtering, or "filter bubbles," as author and cofounder of Upworthy Eli Pariser calls it in his TED Talk, can circumscribe the information we see when we conduct those searches.

Filtering results in isolated information ecosystems of our own making.

What about other search engines?

If we are willing to break away from the convenience of Google, we could use other search services. DuckDuckGo and Startpage are just two of several search engines that provide more privacy than some of the big names.

For, instance, DuckDuckGo does not engage in "search leakage," as that firm calls it. It notes that other search engines save not only individual searches, but also your search history:

Also, note that with this information your searches can be tied together. This means someone can see everything you've been searching, not just one isolated search. You can usually find out a lot about a person from their search history.

But worse, search engines may release searches without adequately anonymizing the information, or that information may be hacked.

Startpage allows you to funnel your search in a way that obtains Google results without your personally identifiable information traveling along with the query.

But, how many of us opt to use a search engine other than Google? Google is still the dominant search engine worldwide.

Filtering information

So, then, are we weaving our own webs without carefully thinking about the many implications of doing so?

Look at how we selectively create and share our experiences on the fly, editing and filtering digital information along the way, and making choices about permissions to view and to share. For instance, imagine the millions of selfies that reflect our individual personas while being shared within a larger social mosaic of interconnected audiences.

Sometimes we may not even be aware of who can access our content or how it is distributed beyond our immediate circle of friends. Consider our focused concentration on texting while being in large crowds and ignoring the chance encounters with others or missing the random scenery of everyday experience.

Information-filtering is ongoing in all these contexts and is both internally and externally constructed.

Empowered contributors

What does metaliteracy do?

Metaliteracy prepares us to ask critical questions about our searches and the technologies we use to seek answers and to communicate with others.

We do not just accept the authority of information because it comes from an established news organization, a celebrity, a friend, or a friend of a friend. Metaliteracy encourages reflection on the circumstances of the information produced.

It prepares us to ask whether or not the materials came from an individual or an organization and to determine the reason for posting or publishing it. As part of this process, the metaliterate learner will seek to verify the source and ask questions about how the information is presented and in what format.

Metaliterate individuals gain insights about open environments and how to share their knowledge in these spaces. For instance, they are well aware of the importance of Creative Commons licenses for determining what information can be reused freely, and for making such content openly available for others' purposes, or for producing their own content.

They also understand the importance of peer review and peer communities for generating and editing content for such sites as Wikipedia, or open textbooks, and other forms of Open Educational Resources (OERs).

The truth is that we can all be metaliterate learners - meditative and empowered, asking perceptive questions, thinking about what and how we learn, while sharing our content and insights as we make contributions to society.

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Can't seem to stop those ads following you around? Why not become 'metaliterate'?

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In today's mobile media environment, an incredible amount of information is available to every one of us, every minute of every day. With our cell phones close by, we can easily search for answers to trivia questions, word definitions or find the perfect recipe for the confetti eggplant bought at the farmers' market.

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This site allows you to search a website or source name and heck its biases and pollical leanings. The site gives easy to understand graphs and short succinic descriptions.

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We are the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. Don't be fooled by Fake News sources. Search Media Bias. View Fact Checks. Breaking News.