Tools for Verifying News
Fact Checkers
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Factcheck.orgFactCheck.org fact-checks claims made by presidents, members of Congress, presidential candidates, and other members of the political arena by reviewing TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
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PolitiFact: Fact-checking US politicsPolitifact fact-checks claims by politicians at the federal, state, and local level, as well as political parties, PACs, and advocacy groups and ates the accuracy of these claims on its Truth-O-Meter.
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SnopesSnopes.com was originally founded to uncover rumors that had begun cropping up in chain emails and message boards and is now highly regarded for its fact-checking.
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Verification Handbook: An ultimate guideline on digital age sourcingHandbook is a step by step guide for verifying digital content initially created for reporters and emergency responders.
Verify Webpage History
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Wayback MachineWeb archive that captures websites over time and can be used to verify content history and edits.
Verify Images
Found an image you think may have been manipulated or photo-shopped? Use these tools to check for any digital changes:
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FotoForensicsIdentify parts of an image that may have been modified or “photoshopped”.
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Google Reverse Image SearchUpload or use a URL image to check the content history or to see similar images on the web.
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Google Street ViewIdentifying the location of a suspicious photo or video is a crucial part of the verification process.
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Jeffrey’s Exif ViewerUpload or enter the URL of an image and view its metadata.
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TinEye Reverse Image SearchUpload or enter an image URL to the search bar and see a list of related sites. Has plug-ins for your browser.
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WikimapiaCrowd-sourced version of Google Maps, featuring additional information.
Want more tools? Check out the Verification Handbook's List of Tools
Check yourself!
One of the hardest things to watch out for when identifying fake news is our how our own beliefs impact what we believe. Fake news is not news you disagree with and just because you don't like what you read, doesn't mean it's wrong. When evaluating news, one must watch out for their subconscious tendency to seek and believe things that agree with your already existing beliefs and ideas.
Our beliefs can be tricky to identify, even within ourselves. This is because most of our beliefs are implicit, or subconscious - meaning we may have beliefs that we don't even realize we have! One way to test your if your beliefs impact your behavior is to take one (or all) of Harvard's 14 Implicit Association Tests.
