News Literacy Resources

Steps Every News Consumer Should Take

Consider the Source

Before you start reading too far into a news item, make sure you know who is publishing it. Is it a source you are familiar with? Does it appear to be professional and free (mostly) from typos and other editing errors? If it looks sketchy, it's probably best to skip. A good way to familiarize yourself with a wide range of news sources is through Adfontes Media's media bias chart. It can actually let you see the quality and political leanings of the most popular news sources today.

Do Your Own Factchecking

Is the information presented in a news article backed up by attribution to credible sources? Are people quoted qualified to speak on this topic? A little extra Googling on your part will help you to feel confident that you are getting factual information.

Managing News Overload

In March of 2020, The Associated Press published an article about coronavirus news coverage* that rightfully suggests many people in times of crisis suffer from news overload and have trouble separating fact from fiction from baseless rumors. What follows are some suggestions based on that article and the Library Department's news literacy instruction to help you develop your own healthy news consumption strategies.

Separate Social Media from News Seeking

Many of us rely on social media platforms to get our news, but it might be well worth changing that habit. Resist clicking on every "screaming" headline that comes across your Facebook or Twitter feed. If you can't do that, skip the comment section; it will take you down a rabbit hole that can be riddled with misinformation. Consider reserving social media for keeping in touch with friends and family. However, do use social media to connect directly with organizations that you support and rely on for accurate information.

Less Really is More (Especially for Staying Sane)

Create a short go-to list of news sources. Make sure you include journalistic news outlets and nonprofit organizations that you trust. Most news websites, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, offer daily news briefings that can be sent directly to your email inbox. News aggregators like Google News, News360 and Flipboard allow you to create customized news feeds from a variety of sources. Fear Of Missing Out applies to our news consumption just like anything else, but we have to give ourselves permission to limit the number of news sources we look at each day to fend off the feelings of overload.

Limit the Time You Spending Consuming News

This may be the best thing you can do to avoid news overload.

Set one or two times each day to check your news sources. Try to keep those sessions to 30 minutes or less.

Do not check the news first thing after you wake up. Get up. Hydrate. Eat. Your brain needs water and nutrition to make sense of the information coming its way

Do not check the news right before you go to sleep or if you wake up in the middle of the night. In fact, consider making your bedroom a "news free" zone if possible.

Final thoughts: We all need to do our best to stay informed in ways that won't overwhelm us. We also need to take responsibility not only for the news we consume but also the news we pass on to others. Before sharing a post or calling up a friend to talk about a news article, take a few moments to factcheck to be sure you are not passing on inaccurate information. Realize that some folks may be taking a "news break". Ask before sending more news their way. None of us can keep up with all the news; none of us should try. To paraphrase Michael Pollan, "Read the news. Not too much. Mostly from sources you know."

Limiting Graphic Images on Social Media

TikTok

“Restricted Mode” helps limit graphic videos from the For You Page. You may also see a warning about “Sensitive content” and can choose to click to watch or skip the TikTok video.
Tap on your profile in the lower right corner. Then click on the three horizontal lines in the upper right.
Pick the option for Settings and privacy → Content preferences → Restricted Mode. You’ll need to set a passcode to turn Restricted Mode on or off.

Instagram

Click on your profile image in the lower right corner of your screen. Then from the upper right corner, tap on the three horizontal lines.
Go to Settings and privacy → Suggested content → Sensitive content.
Choose “Less” and Instagram will show fewer posts that it considers potentially sensitive. If you change this setting, you may still see graphic images from accounts that you follow.

YouTube

On Youtube.com: When a video is playing, hover your cursor to the bottom of the video. You’ll see in the middle an auto play button with an image for pause. Click that to automatically stop playing one video after another.
YouTube has more instructions here. YouTube also said that in some cases, it may apply a warning to videos before they start playing.
Another option in YouTube’s iPhone and Android app: Click on your profile in the upper right corner.
Choose Settings → Autoplay. Tap off to stop one video from automatically playing when you finish another.

You can mute notifications for a WhatsApp group, which means you won't be alerted to new messages. You can resume notifications later if you choose. WhatsApp has instructions here.
You can also block individuals in your group chat or report material in the group to WhatsApp if you believe it is inappropriately violent or manipulated information. Those instructions are here.
Or you can leave a WhatsApp group. If you do so, only the administrators of that group chat are notified.

Send comments, questions, suggestions to aparson@packer.edu