How To Know Your Media Is Trustworthy

"How can we determine which news sources are trustworthy?

"There's a general rubric I like to follow. Basically, it's a five-step system that the folks at the News Literacy Project came up with.

"First, you have to figure out what other (credible) sources say about the outlet or news source — you need to get off-platform to do this and check out sources like fact-checking websites.

"If the source seems to check out, second, you find out what their editorial standards are. Any credible media organization will have these and they should be easily discoverable somewhere on their website. If they don't have them, that's a red flag.

"Third, find out who funds and creates the content — again, at any legit outlet, this should be transparently stated somewhere on the website. There also shouldn't just be transparency around who funds the whole organization, but around which articles are sponsored and which aren't. If this isn't obvious, that's a problem.

"Fourth, look at how they handle errors. Seeing a "correction" appended to an article, for example, isn't a bad thing — everyone makes mistakes, and it's way more of a red flag when these aren't transparently corrected.

"Fifth, ask yourself about the quality of the coverage in general. For example, is the language inflammatory? Are headlines click-baity? Is the journalism original, or just parroting content from other sources? Is it clear when something is opinion, vs fact-based? And how does the coverage of a particular topic compare to that on other, legitimate sites?

"None of this is a guarantee of trustworthiness, but if a source fails to meet these standards, it's for sure a sign you SHOULDN'T trust that source."

Click on the link below for the rest of the interview:

Examining the Media: an interview with Amanda Ruggeri

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Click on the link below for a podcast delving into the above:

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Click on the link below for a podcast presenting the details:

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Click on the link below for a podcast analysis of the dangers ahead regarding AI's effect on our media, particularly the internet:

Shaping the Future of the Internet