There are thousands of ways to get information but not all of those sources can be trusted to give you the facts. When it comes to avoiding misinformation you need to actively consume news.
News literacy is the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information. There are some simple things you can do as you browse through articles and social media to see if what you're reading is real.
Alex Mahadevan is the MediaWise director with the Poynter Institute. It's a digital media literacy organization that teaches news consumers, journalists and aspiring journalists how to fact-check stories.
Mahadevan says one of the first things they teach is to stay in touch with your emotions.
"People spread misinformation by packaging it in ways that make you anxious or angry or upset. So if you start to feel serious feelings then you know that something's off, there's a red flag right there."
He suggests closing your app or your emotion. Once the emotion passes, Google key words in the story and see if you can find other trusted sources with the same information.
Another red flag is if an article doesn't have any original reporting or any quotes from other sources.
Mahadevan says, "The other thing is always look for an author's name, that we in the news business called a byline. You can Google that name and find out more about the journalist who wrote the article, or shot the video, and you can kind of get their background and learn a bit a little bit more."
No name attached to an article is another red flag that it might not be trustworthy.
MediaWise helps journalists and news consumers separate fact from fiction. They also have a teen fact-checking network that is the first of its kind in the world.
Middle and high schoolers can apply and are trained on factchecking tools and how to best use TikTok.
"So basically, our teens find a video, they fact check it using tools and techniques that real fact checkers use. And then they post it on Tiktok, or YouTube or Instagram," said Mahadevan.
There peers are able to check out their work as well.
If you want more information on how to be a more informed news consumer MediaWise offers classes and resources.
