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Disinformation and misinformation are existential threats to our democracy because they undermine our trust in a shared reality, and we lose our common ground. (Dr. Kate Starbird, University of Washington, Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, "The Weirdest Election 'Night' Ever," webinar, 2020 October 19)
Avoid information bubbles
When you get all of your news from one source, you are getting only one perspective that may be biased. Just as a balanced diet is good for your body, a variety of news sources is good for your mind.
AllSides considers media bias and presents parallel news stories from the left, center, and right.
Media Bias/Fact Check rates news media on their bias; check out their list of least-biased news sources.
There are facts, and then there is everything else
"Just the facts, ma'am," was a famous quotation attributed to Sergeant Joe Friday on the 1950s television drama Dragnet. But he never actually said that, so even one of our most well-known catchphrases about facts is a myth.
What is a fact? (Merriam-Webster definition)
What is a fabricated fact? (Black's Law Dictionary)
There are a lot of things floating around out there that are not facts. Analyses, interpretations, opinions, predictions, speculation, misinformation, rumors, fake news, myths, conspiracy theories, urban legends, fabrications, hoaxes, and bald-faced lies sometimes smother the facts. Facts can be checked and verified.
Here are some fact-checking tools:
Feature: Voting laws
Bill HR 1 fact-checked
How often does voter impersonation happen?
The new Georgia voting law
Sunday voting in Georgia
Feature: Immigration
Fact-checking President Biden's claims
Asylum grants and immigration court attendance
Colorado gunman did not come illegally from Mexico
Apprehensions at the border
Did a United Nations official condemn conditions in migrant detention facilities?
Fact-checking the Homeland Security secretary
Biden did not demolish Trump's wall
How many terrorists cross our southern border?
Is the border wide open?
Are migrants being treated better than the National Guard?
Feature: American Rescue Plan
Where the money goes
How much pork is in the COVID relief bill?
Bridges and tunnels part of the American Rescue Plan?
Dissecting spin on the COVID relief bill
Who is eligible for a stimulus check?
Will criminals in prison get stimulus checks?
Checks for prisoners and illegal immigrants?
Will it raise taxes on middle-income people?
Did Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi sneak money into the bill?
Did members of Congress get a salary bonus in this bill?
Feature: What is QAnon?
QAnon's corrosive impact on the U.S. (60 Minutes)
What is QAnon, the baseless conspiracy spilling into US politics?
What is QAnon, the Viral Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory
QAnon Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation
QAnon: What is it and where did it come from?
A Breeding Ground for Conspiracies: How QAnon Helped Bring About the U.S. Capitol Assault
CNN Special Report: Inside the QAnon Conspiracy
How a South Carolina mom left QAnon behind
A rare look at pro-Trump conspiracy theorists in their own words
Residents of Washington town wonder if QAnon has taken hold of their mayor
What is QAnon, the far-right conspiracy theory causing controversy at the RNC
People tell us how QAnon destroyed their relationships
QAnon supporters who ran for Congress in 2020
The Prophecies of Q
QAnon goes European
Short primers on information literacy
An owl says "hoo" and you should too
Bias and logical fallacies go together like love and marriage
Everything but the truth
Watch their language
What a carrot can teach us about viewpoints
Why social media should not be your news media
Educate yourself
Bad News (misinformation game)
Calling Bullshit: Data Reasoning in a Digital World
Cognitive biases
First Draft's Essential Guide to Understanding Information Disorder
First Draft's Essential Guide to Verifying Online Information
Information Disorder: The Essential Glossary
Is this story share-worthy? (Note: The Newseum is defunct)
Lexicon of Lies: Terms for Problematic Information
The Skeptical Inquirer Presents
Thou shall not commit logical fallacies
Master List of Logical Fallacies
Reading & Resource List on Information Literacy (updated regularly)
Investigative tools
BotSlayer: track disinformation on Twitter
Comparison of reverse image searching tools
Google Reverse Image Search
Guide to Using Reverse Image Search for Investigations
InVid Verification Plugin
NewsGuard: trust ratings for news websites
The Political realm
Misinformation in the 2020 U.S. Elections & Social Media Platform Policies
Fact-checking the Capitol insurrection
The Capitol Siege: The Arrested and Their Stories
The myth that Antifa stormed the Capitol
Mis/disinformation and the Capitol breach
Dirty Tricks: 9 Falsehoods that Could [and did] Undermine the 2020 Election
No evidence that Dominion Voting Systems flipped votes
Charges about voting technology companies
Examining false beliefs about voter fraud
Factchecking (sic) the Electoral College Debate [2020 Presidential election]
A Tale of Two Elections: CBS and Fox News' Portrayal of the 2020 Presidential Campaign
TV news outlets overrepresent extreme partisans in Congress
Research on the Confederate flag, divisive politics and enduring meanings
How Facebook could reduce political animosity
COVID-19 corner
Coronavirus Rumor Control (FEMA)
Federal Government COVID-19 information
Coronavirus Mythbusters (World Health Organization)
Coronavirus Resource Center (Johns Hopkins University)
CoronaVirusFacts Alliance (Poynter Institute)
Information on vaccines (COVID Collaborative)
Questions and answers about vaccines (Washington Post Fact Checker)
False vaccine claims persist on Facebook
False and unsupported claims about vaccines
How to fact-check coronavirus information on social media
How to stop friends and relatives from spreading misinformation
A chiropractor's video filled with false and misleading claims about face masks
Distortions about the effectiveness of masks
Wisconsin state documents on COVID-19
Wisconsin COVID-19 information
"Dr." in front of a name does not always mean trustworthiness
Governors' shutdowns did not cause the pandemic jobs crisis (analysis by the Washington Post)
Most bizarre COVID-19 fact checks
Archive
Facebook Fact-Checks by Politifact
Joe Biden’s inauguration in extraordinary times, fact-checked
One last time (as president): Fact-checking Donald Trump’s departure speech
Lie of the Year [2020] by Politifact
Politifact's top 10 fact-checks of 2020
Biggest Pinocchios of the Year [2020] by the Washington Post
The scariest misinformation of 2020 by Politifact
The Global Disinformation Disorder
How Disinformation Evolved in 2020
Just For Fun
"Hokum Bunkum Balderdash" a song by Lou & Peter Berryman