Credible information: Find and rely on trustworthy news sources
Searching for credible information seems harder than ever, and labels with malleable definitions like "fake news" don't help. It's no wonder so many of us are confused.
I've spent years of teaching helping students identify bias in news. But now, trends in journalism instruction have shifted from objectivity (which, apparently, we've given up on) and toward transparency. We're also grappling with the impact that today's news delivery platforms have on the quality of information.
When I recently asked my students which news outlet they felt was most trustworthy, they almost unanimously said "print." I then asked which source of news was the least used by the public. The answer, frustratingly enough, is also print.
A 2016 study by the Pew Research Center confirms this, citing that only 20 percent of adults regularly turn to newspapers for news. Last month, the PRC reported that 67 percent of Americans get at least some of their news from social media.
Social media. The same place where my teenage daughter sends daily selfies of no value to friends to avoid breaking Snapchat streaks. The same place where a Facebook friend just alerted us that Mickey Rooney died (he died in 2014) and a "sponsored" article in my feed promised to help me understand the real reason why Chris Pratt split from Anna Faris, complete with a photo of Chris ... Evans.
Here's what I tell my students to help them assess the credibility of information:
• The quality of information is directly proportional to the amount of time spent on the reporting and the number of hurdles that information cleared before reaching the reader.
• Be wary of information that lacks citations and multiple sources.
• Follow up on the publication source. Can you trust where it came from?
• Ask yourself how the interview sources in stories could know what they know and take note of assumptions.
• Look for a convergence of evidence by cross-checking multiple outlets reporting on that information.
And finally, since we are getting so much news from social media, never click to share a story that you have not fully read yourself and have vetted as credible. Accessing credible information is hard enough without us providing a platform for the garbage.