Vet Everything

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. George Bernard Shaw

Fox News was caught red-handed spreading lies about Dominion Voting Systems, prompting Dominion to take legal action and file a defamation lawsuit against Fox. The lawsuit has now been settled, with Fox News admitting they had created false knowledge about Dominion's voting machines, which had the potential to undermine faith in our nation's elections. This is an alarming example of how misinformation can be used to spread fear and distrust in our democracy. It is also a reminder of how important it is to be critical of the sources of our news and to always seek out the truth.

Take this quiz: Is it legit? Vetting news sources for credibility

I got a 9 out of 9 on the above quiz. Even with a perfect score, it is a great opportunity to learn more about validating news articles. We as citizens should all know how to vet all news media to discern fact from half-truths.

Newslit.org recommends 5 steps to verify the legitimacy of news.

1. Do a quick search: Conducting a simple search for information about a news source is a key first step in evaluating its credibility.

2. Look for standards: Reputable news organizations aspire to ethical guidelines and standards, including fairness, accuracy, and independence.

3. Check for transparency: Quality news sources should be transparent, not only about their reporting practices (see above), but also about their ownership and funding.

4. Examine how errors are handled: Credible news sources are accountable for mistakes and correct them. Do you see evidence that this source corrects or clarifies errors?

5. Assess news coverage: An important step in vetting sources is taking time to read and assess several news articles.

They give additional guidance here: https://newslit.org/educators/resources/is-it-legit/

It sucks that our world has come to this but, we have got to be better citizens and Vet Everything!!!