Fact Checking (Misinformation)
Snopes
Snopes began in 1994 examining urban legends, but has expanded to general fact-checking.
Media Bias / Fact Check
A site that examines bias in media from all points of the political spectrum. It includes a "Daily Source Bias Check" that examines the truthfulness and bias of various news sources.
Fact Check
A non-partisan site that focuses on political claims.
Politifact
A site that rates the accuracy of claims made by U.S. politicians with the Truth-o-Meter.
Allsides
Don't be fooled by media bias and fake news. Allsides display the day's top news stories from the Left, Center and Right of the political spectrum - side-by-side so you can see the full picture.
False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical 'News' Sources
Tips and tricks for spotting questionable news sites. The list is maintained by Melissa Zimdars, assistant professor of Communications at Merrimack College.
Fake News Guide (published by the Massachusetts Library System)
This guide to fake news is a collaborative work-in-progress in conjunction with the MA Library System and the MA library community.
Directions: Working in pairs, visit the links provided for the topics below. Some of the links provided fall into the category of mis or disinformation; other links are credible. Use the CRAP test to assess the reliability of each link on your assigned topic. Feel free to explore links embedded in the site and to do any additional google research to determine the reliability of the source. As you explore these sources, try to figure out the purpose or motivation of the claim’s proponents (supporters). What do those people pushing the claim have to gain or lose by spreading misinformation? Collect your findings on the next page titled Misinformation Worksheet.
- Insects: Scrolling around on social media, you came across this article: Activist warns global push to add bugs to the menu is part of alarming trend. Is it true that climate activists and government officials are forcing people, including Americans, to stop eating red meat and to eat insects instead? Your mission is to use the CRAP test to assess the sources below to determine if the U.S. government is going to force people to replace meat with insects or if the claim is misinformation.
- Wind turbines and whales: Scrolling around on social media, you came across this article: Uptick in dead whales along East Coast sparks intense debate among environmentalists over offshore wind | Fox News. Is it true that wind turbines, a source of renewable energy, are killing whales? Your mission is to use the CRAP test to assess the sources below to determine if this claim is true or misinformation.
- Wind Industry Activity Strongly Correlated with Whale Deaths | Environmental Progress
- Uptick in dead whales along East Coast sparks intense debate among environmentalists over offshore wind | Fox News
- Frequent Questions—Offshore Wind and Whales | NOAA Fisheries
- https://time.com/6254785/whale-deaths-offshore-wind-power/
- Electric cars and Emissions: Scrolling around on social media, you came across this article: Electric cars release MORE toxic emissions than gas-powered vehicles and are worse for the environment, resurfaced study warns. Is it true that electric cars are worse for the environment than gas-powered cars? Your mission is to use the CRAP test to assess the sources below to determine if this claim is true or misinformation.
ZoteroBib
ZoteroBib helps you build a bibliography instantly from any computer or device, without creating an account or installing any software.
MyBib Citation Generator
MyBib is a free online citation bibliography creation tool. It can create citations and bibliographies in many styles including MLA and APA. MyBib allows you to paste in a website URL or even search for a book, article, or other source by title, and will pull most of the information you need to create a citation (though you may need to double check that the information is correct and complete).
Once you've created your citations, MyBib allows you to copy paste your citations, download them as a Word document, save them to your Google Drive, print them, or email them to yourself.
You can also contact us at the library. We are here to help!
HCC has a Writing Center that can help with citations and examples can be seen in the MLA Guide and APA Guide from Purdue.
