Author: CVMartoni

Tin eye

Fact-Checking, Fake News, Scams & Hoaxes

TinEye. (2019). Reverse image search [search engine]. Retrieved from https://tineye.com.

Description: This reverse image search accesses a multibillion index of web images to determine from where an image originates and locate/track modified versions.

Use: Wondering if that news article is a hoax? Try reverse searching any images within the article to find their true origins (and debunk that hoax!).

Access: As of now, TinEye is free for use through a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Snopes

Fact-Checking, Fake News, Scams & Hoaxes

Snopes. (2019). Fact check [website]. Retrieved from https://snopes.com/fact-check.

Description: Snopes’ fact checking feature offers an archive of investigated rumors and questionable claims.

Why I trust it: The oldest and largest online fact-checking site, Snopes’ contextualized analysis uses evidence-based practices to fact-check the media. The company has been independently verified by the International Fact Checking Network, and, in the spirit of truth-seeking, it invites skepticism and challengers. The fact-checkers attempt to contact sources for interviews and seek out supporting information. They consult experts, and each fact-check travels through multiple staffers.

Use: Reading something you suspect could be fake? Pop keywords into the search bar to see if it’s been investigated.

Access: Users can access this column using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Keys to interpreting media messages

News & Media Literacy, News & the Internet

Silverblatt, A., Smith, A., Don Miller, C., Smith, J., & Brown, N. (2014). Keys to interpreting media messages [worksheet]. Media literacy: Keys to interpreting media messages (4th ed., pp 203-9). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/899291525.

Description: This worksheet includes a series of questions to help readers determine the process, context, and framework of a media product.

Why I trust it: This worksheet is included in a book meant to aid people in decoding diverse types of media. It is published by Praeger, a company affiliated with ABC-CLIO and trusted by libraries worldwide.

Use: This worksheet can be used to help you evaluate the quality of a piece of information you find on the internet.

Access: Users can access this book through many university libraries including SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Orange. It can be requested through the UAlbany interlibrary loan system.

Politico

Fact-Checking, Politics on the Internet

Politico. (2019). Is it true? A fake news database [website]. Retreived from https://www.politico.com/interactives/2018/is-this-true.

Description: People send in suspected hoaxes, doctored images, and fake websites. Then, Politico’s team works to determine the truth.

Why I trust it: Politico’s mission is to provide its audience with accurate, nonpartisan information. In 2012, the Poynter Institute found that about the same percentage of Politico readers identify as democrat as do those that identify as republican.

Use: Reading something you suspect could be fake? Pop keywords into this Politico database to see if it’s been investigated. If not, visit the “about the project” link for a submission form.

Access: Users can access this column using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Fact checker

Fact-Checking

Kessler, G. (2019). Fact checker: The truth behind the rhetoric [column]. Retrieved from https://washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker.  

Description: This column, based on sound news media principles, is authored by professional fact checker Glenn Kessler and his colleagues Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly. Its goal is to fact check the statements of political figures and weed through political rhetoric. The authors also investigate answers to questions submitted by readers.

Why I trust it: Glenn Kessler is an award-winning journalist whose career spans decades. His fact-checking team analyzes political statements on both the left and right, and they do so without inserting opinion. The column appears in the national-news section of The Post, seperate from the editorial or opinion sections. Also, members of the team are not permitted to engage in partisan political activity or make contributions to candidates or advocacy organizations.

Use: Use this resource to fill in missing context in political statements and get a more comprehensive, unbiased picture of topics mentioned by politicians.

Access: Users can access this column using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Hudson’s Washington news media contacts guide

Fact-Checking, Fake News, News & the Internet

Grey House Publishing. (2019). Hudson’s Washington news media contacts guide. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2166135.

Description: This periodical reference has been published for over 50 years and offers contact information for over 4,000 key media contacts.

Why I trust it: This is a periodical publication, with new, updated editions available annually. It includes media contact information that one would not be able to find on the internet.

Use: Have a question about an article you are reading? See if the author’s contact information—or the contact information of a cited source— is available through this resource.

Access: This resource is available through several university library systems. If it’s not available at your library, try requesting it through an inter-library loan.

The Chicago guide to fact-checking

Fact-Checking

Borel, B. (2016). The Chicago guide to fact-checking. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1043503275.

Description: This Chicago guide offers tools and best practices for fact checking across multiple forms of media.

Why I trust it: This guide was published by the same company that publishes the Chicago Manual of Style, and it draws on the expertise of over 200 professional writers, editors, and fact-checkers. The book’s editor, Brooke Borel, is a former research editor at Science Illustrated and a former fact checker at Quanta. She also teaches science communication workshops at New York University.

Use: Use this manual to beef up your web fact-checking skills. You’ll find numerous strategies to fact-check across multiple forms of media. You’ll also find, at the end of the book, 20 full pages of references organized by chapter.

Access: This title is accessible in-library through the University at Albany Libraries reference collection under call number ZA3075 .B67 2016. You can also request this title through the New York Public Libr

Not real news

Fact-Checking, Fake News

The Associated Press (2019). Not real news [column]. Retrieved from https://www.apnews.com/NotRealNews.

Description: This weekly Associated Press column offers an overview and fact-check of the top viral social media content.

Why I trust it: The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news producer in existence for over 150 years. It has won over 50 Pulitzer Prizes, and its content is trusted and reproduced by newspapers world-wide.

Use: Stay “on top of the news” by reading this column each week.

Access: Users can access this column using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

The First Amendment encyclopedia

News & the Internet

Middle Tennessee State University. (2019). The First Amendment encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment.

Description: This online encyclopedia is a collection of articles about free expression in America, curated by faculty of the Middle Tennessee State University.

Why I trust it: This resource is presented by the Free Speech Center and the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies. It was edited by two scholars, one of whom, Dr. John R. Vile, is a professor of political science and dean of the University Honors College at MTSU. The other scholar, David L. Hudson, Jr., is a former member of the Nashville First Amendment Center, and he now teaches at the Nashville School of Law and Vanderbilt Law School.

Use: First amendment issues are all over the Internet, and understanding them will help you think critically about the information you consume. Use this encyclopedia to understand more about freedom of speech and expression. A unique aspect about this encyclopedia is that it provides you with direct contact information for its collaborators. If you have questions, reach out to these experts for an interview.

Access: Users can access this online encyclopedia using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Reference and user services quarterly

Current Issues

Reference and User Services Association. (2018). Reference and user services quarterly [online archives]. Retrieved from https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/issue/archive.

Description: This open-access publication offers up-to-date, trustworthy suggestions for further authoritative reading on a broad range of topics.

Why I trust it: This resource is published by the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. Its mission is to provide libraries with information on topics ranging from reference services to readers’ advisory, and it follows a double-blind, pre-publication review process.

Use: Use the archive search engine to search using keywords relating to a topic you want to learn more about. Then, find the resources listed at your library.

Access: Users can access this online reference collection using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.