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Media Literacy & Misinformation: Reliable Sources

Learn how to recognize and prevent misinformation and discover where your news comes from.

You Have the Power

You can help stem the tide of "fake news" and misinformation!

Don't fall for the "clickbait" by clicking the links on ads or questionable news headlines. Visiting a site through one of these links generates revenue for the creator and encourages the practice. Use adblocking and site-sourcing apps and browser extensions.  

Flag or report suspicious content to vendor or publisher.

Support legitimate news sources by using the suggested resources on this page and in the Monmouth University Library.

Be a critical thinker and good digital citizen by using and sharing information carefully and responsibly.

Ask a librarian!

Where Do I Find?

Trusted Sources

Per The Pew Research Center's study titled Political Polarization and Media Habits, there is no one "most trusted" news source. It's up to you to think critically and use your best judgment!

Pew Center graphic showing "News Sources With Greatest Ratio of Trust to Distrust"

PR & Corporations

Exposed by CMD logo

The Center for Media & Democracy investigates corporate "front" groups to determine who's really pulling the strings. Use their ExposedbyCMD resources to locate the power behind the big corporations. Note: as of 2021, this is a new title and website for this project. Materials collected prior to 2021 are available here. 

Social Media Distrust

Per 2019 Pew Research poll, most Americans do NOT trust social media as a source for political and election news.

Graphic from Pew Center for Media Studies with headline "Few trust social media as a place to get political and election news"

Mistakes Were Made

Another point to consider when verifying information is its validity over time. Even with the editorial process and peer review being such a large part of academic publication, nothing is 100% infallible. Errors happen, but scientists can be loathe to admit it. RetractionWatch is a blog that researches and exposes misconduct with respect to academic journals and provides a database of academic articles that have been retracted due to improper research methods and/or data that is either faulty or has been significantly updated. 

Podcasts

Selected podcasts on conspiracy theories, misinformation/disinformation, technology and mass media. See also - 2021 list of conspiracy theory podcast episodes from Mashable.

Confirmation Bias is Not New

Historical painting of writer/philosopher Francis Bacon, seated

"The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion (either as being the received opinion or as being agreeable to itself) draws all things else to support and agree with it."

- Sir Francis Bacon  in Novum Organum (1620)

Journals

Newsletters/Blogs

Suggested newsletters/blogs focusing upon mass media, technology and misinformation/disinformation.

Our Library Resources

These library databases will help you find reliable information, but no database or source is foolproof. Use the tools found throughout this guide along with your critical thinking skills to determine whether a source is truly reliable!