Media Literacy

Media Literacy: Think Critically, Click Wisely

What we share in conversation and on social media has a greater impact than we may realize. Use the tools on this page to become a media literacy expert!

Evaluating Bias

Bias is an unavoidable part of news reporting. But those sources that have extreme bias tend to be lower on factual reporting. It's important to recognize the bias that exists in sources, whether it is a political or personal bias. Some key terms to know:

Implicit Bias: These are the biases or attitudes that we already have toward a subject without even being aware of them. Be sure to do a gut check when a source affects you emotionally. It may be that the source is tapping into your implicit biases.

Confirmation Bias: Sometimes we look to find information that confirms or favors our biases rather than to truly explore an issue with our minds open. This can cause us to ignore important and valuable information which is not consistent with our biases.

Political Bias: Oftentimes when we talk about bias, we are referring to political bias. This is the most common type of bias in news reporting. When we say "biased to the left", we mean that the source seems to favor the position of the Democratic or liberal party. When we say "biased to the right", we mean that the source seems to favor the position of the Republican or conservative party.

Resources for Balanced News

Home | Ad Fontes MediaHome of the Media Bias Chart® – Ad Fontes Media rates the news for bias and reliability via a proven methodology and politically balanced...

Section 1: Media Sources: Distinct Favorites Emerge on the Left and RightWhen it comes to getting news about government and politics, there are stark ideological differences in the sources that online Americans use, as well as

AllSides | Balanced news via media bias ratings for an unbiased news perspectiveSee issues and political news with news bias revealed. Non-partisan, crowd-sourced technology shows all sides so you can decide.

How to Spot 16 Types of Media BiasJournalism is tied to a set of ethical standards and values, including truth and accuracy, fairness and impartiality, and accountability. However, journalism today often strays from objective fact; the result is biased news. Media bias isn't necessarily a bad thing, but hidden media bias misleads, manipulates and divides us.

News Literacy ProjectThe News Literacy Project works with educators and journalists to give students the skills they need to discern fact from fiction and to know what to trust.

Media Bias/Fact Check NewsWe are the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. There are currently 3900+ media sources listed in our database and growing every day.

FactCheck.org

Question: What's the relationship between bias and reliability?

Watch

Lateral REading

4 Steps to credible sources!

Open lots of tabs in your browser.
Get off the site you are on.
Do a deliberate Google search for the source or information you are evaluating.
Read what trusted and reliable sources are saying about the site or claim. Try to find four or five other sources that discuss your source. (If you can't find that many, that's a sign that your source might not be good.)

Tip: This should take about 90 seconds. If it's taking much longer, you may be dealing with an unreliable source!