In his January 2025 farewell address, President Biden said:
"Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling [or] disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit…. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time."
It is imperative that you know how to fact check, evaluate, and stop the spread of bad information. Learn how to combat the spread of misinformation and disinformation using any and all of the tools below.
How to fact check The Atlantic
Why does fact checking matter? Accuracy and truth. Learn about Research Chief for The Atlantic Yvonne Rolzhausen's process for fact checking information. (This article is a ~9 minute read.)
10 Tips for Fighting Fake News - How to Fact Check Like a Pro
Authored by Barbara Gray, Associate Professor and Chief Librarian at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
The CRAP Test is a tool to guide you through deciding if a source meets your definition of credible. C.R.A.P. stands for Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose / Point of View.
The SIFT Method is specifically built to help you spot misinformation and disinformation. It is a set of four fact-checking strategies that guide you through quickly making a decision about whether or not a source is worthy of your attention and trust.
CCC Librarians' recommendations are listed below.
Practice “lateral reading,” a strategy used by professional fact-checkers to investigate the reliability of online sources.
Blank screen, prefer the HD version, or want Closed Captioning? Watch the YouTube video.
Originally published by UofL Research Assistance & Instruction (2021).
Except where otherwise noted, content in these research guides is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.