Center for Media Literacy defines media literacy as “a 21st-century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms – from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.” (http://www.medialit.org/media-literacy-definition-and-more/)
Post-Truth: Fake News and a New Era of Information Literacy
Talk of fake news and the need for critical thinking skills have been in heavy rotation in the media in recent months, with new calls for the public to acquire appropriate research and evaluation skills and become more information savvy. However, none of this is new for librarians and information professionals, particularly for those who teach information literacy classes! With this renewed interest, librarians have brand new opportunities to impart these skills to patrons. Presented by Nicole A. Cooke,
Augusta Baker Endowed Chair and Professor at University of South Carolina.
Ground News: Read between the lines of media bias.
Ground News is a platform that makes it easy to compare news sources, read between the lines of media bias and break free from algorithms.
SIFT: Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted coverage, and Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context. This model will help you evaluate and put the news into context.
IMVAIN: IMVAIN is an acronym used to evaluate the quality of sources (people) interviewed in news stories. It stands for: Independent sources are better than self-interested sources; Multiple sources are better than single sources; sources who Verify are better than sources who assert; Authoritative/Informed sources are better than uninformed sources; and Named sources are better than unnamed sources.
This toolkit serves as a primer for educators in New York State looking to introduce their students to the concepts of media
literacy. It is organized into five sections:
It is the first of a series of resources on media literacy that the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) intends to produce. Future products will include age-appropriate, audience-specific materials for educators, parents, and students.
If you are interested in receiving more information on media literacy, or have any related questions/comments, please contact: MediaLiteracy@dhses.ny.gov
Databases listed below are available for FREE to all New York State residents. *Note: You must access from NYS.
Provides periodical and news information with over 12,000 titles and 30 years of coverage.
A full-text newspaper database that includes various NYS newspapers.
Contains a range of perspectives on many important issues, with over 21,000 pro/con viewpoints. Includes a variety of resource types: reference, news, primary sources, multimedia and more.
FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
A fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. PolitiFact is run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida, as is PunditFact, a site devoted to fact-checking pundits.
A project of the Tampa Bay Times and the Poynter Institute, dedicated to checking the accuracy of claims by pundits, columnists, bloggers, political analysts, the hosts and guests of talk shows, and other members of the media.
The snopes.com website was founded by David Mikkelson, who lives and works in the Los Angeles area. What he began in 1995 as an expression of his interest in researching urban legends has since grown into what is widely regarded by folklorists, journalists, and laypersons alike as one of the World Wide Web's essential resources.
Get the truth about rumors, inspirational stories, virus warnings, hoaxes, scams, humorous tales, pleas for help, urban legends, prayer requests, calls to action, and other forwarded emails.
TinEye is a reverse image search engine. You can use it to find out when and where an image first appeared on the Internet.
A list of things to look for and tools to use to see if a photo has been manipulated.
From Poynter. Specifically discusses the U.S.-Iran conflict in 2020, but the tools apply to fact-checking any news photo. Contains questions to ask about images as well as information on using Google's reverse image search, TinEye, and Yandex Images.