Library Guides: Evaluating Information Sources: Fake News

What Makes a News Story Fake?

"What makes a news story fake?" infographic accessible text

How To Spot Fake News - from FactCheck.org

Fact Checking Sites

Use these sites to check news stories, claims, and alternate sides of a story.

AllSides.com
According to the AllSides website, it "exposes bias and provides multiple angles on the same story so you can quickly get the full picture, not just one slant" on the news.
Factcheck.org
A nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
Calling Bullshit
University of Washington course designed to teach you how to think critically. Look especially at the Tools and Case Studies
FlackCheck
FlackCheck.org is the political literacy companion site to the award-winning FactCheck.org. The site provides resources designed to help viewers recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular.
Hoaxy
Hoaxy visualizes the spread of claims and related fact checking online.
Snopes
A project begun in 1994 as an expression of David Mikkelson's interest in researching urban legends that has since grown into the oldest and largest fact-checking site on the Internet.
Sunlight Foundation
The Sunlight Foundation is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses technology, open data, policy analysis and journalism to make our government and politics more accountable and transparent to all.
Truth or Fiction
A "mythbusting" website about urban legends, Internet rumors, "erumors", e-mail forwards, and other questionable pictures or stories.
The Washington Post: Fact Checker
The purpose of this websites to “truth squad” the statements of political figures regarding issues of great importance, be they national, international or local.
Politifact
This Pulitzer Prize-winning site researches the claims of politicians and checks their accuracy.
Media Bias Chart
Compare news sources by factual reliability and political bias.

Trusted News and Media Resources

MSU Library Newspaper Collection: Complete List
MSU Exponent Student Newspaper (Online Version)
From the Exponent's web site: "The ASMSU Exponent, Montana State University's student newspaper, is published weekly on Thursdays throughout the academic year, with copies available for free at various locations on campus and across Bozeman. Providing news and commentary coverage of events, athletics, campus issues and more, the Exponent serves as a focal point of MSU's student culture."
MSU Exponent Student Newspaper Digital Collection (Historical Print Copies))
This database-in-progress is a joint project of the Library and the MSU Exponent.
Media Bias Chart
Compare news sources by factual reliability and political bias.

CQ Researcher
Full issues devoted to multiple viewpoints on current topics
Access World News
News resources from the US and around the world
Atlantic, The
Covers news, politics, culture, technology, health, and more (1857 - current); also includes access to podcasts and newsletters
New York Times (Historical)
Articles from the New York Times between 1851 - 2020
New York Times (NYT)
Live news, investigations, opinion, photos and video by journalists from around the world (1851 - current)
To create or renew a New York Times account through the MSU Library:
1. Access the New York Times through the library link. Log in with your NetID and password if you're off campus.
2. If you have previously registered your email address on the NYT site, you will click the "Already have an account?" "Log in here" link (below the "Create Account" button).
3. Answer the status question (are you a faculty, staff, or student?) and set a calendar reminder to renew your account. If you are MSU faculty or staff, you will need to renew your New York Times account yearly, while student accounts stay active for multiple years.
Video Tutorials:
- Creating a New York Times account
- Renewing a New York Times account
Helpful Information:
- Existing paid NYT subscribers must cancel their paid subscription before authenticating via the school funded program. To cancel, contact NYT Customer Care at: customercare@nytimes.com or 800-591-9233.
- Users are limited to 5 article downloads per day of content published between 1923 - 1980
- NYT articles published between 1851 - 2020 can also be found in the Historical New York Times database (no registration required)
Wall Street Journal (Historical)
Wall Street Journal articles from 1889 - 2012
Wall Street Journal
Search content from the Wall Street Journal from 1984 - current
CQ Press Library
Research US politics, history, public policy, and current affairs
Opposing Viewpoints (Gale in Context)
Multiple views, opinions, pros, and cons on popular social issues and other topics

The New Yorker

Resources for Instructors

Instructor Resources for Teaching Research
Lesson plans, activities, suggested tutorials, and handouts for each part of the research process. Resources are included for both in person, and online asynchronous classes.
Neurodiversity Teaching Strategies
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