When reading, watching, or listening to content meant to inform, it is very important that you access media from a credible source. A credible source is a source that is trustworthy, unbiased, and provides evidence to back up its statements. Here are some tips for finding credible sources:
1. Learn about the publication or organization posting the content. Do a simple internet search. What are other sites saying about the source of the information? Search for the publication or organization's name online. Below is an example of a search on Google for the New York Times.
"New York Times" was entered into the search box. The results included the link to the New York Times, but it also returned a result of additional information about the publication on the right side of the screen. Here you can see this publication was established in 1851 and has more than 10 million subscribers. That is a pretty good indication that it is a reliable resource. Other useful information may include annual revenue, founder, number of employees, etc. If you are still unsure about the source, you should now have additional information you can research.
2. Learn about the author. If you are reading an article or blog post, the author's name should be listed. Do an internet search on the author. Is it a real person? What are their professional credentials? What other articles have they written? With what organizations are they associated?
3. Do some research on the platform where you found the information. What is the purpose of the platform? Can anyone create content?
4. Many credible sources use social media to get their information to the public, but people posing as credible sources on social media can also post content. Instead of scrolling through social media to find information, consider going to a credible source's website and clicking on their specific social media links. That way you know you are getting their feed and not someone creating an account that resembles a credible source.
5. Find out from what country the content is coming. Certain countries have governments that use false information and propaganda to try to make people think and act a certain way.
6. Consider using the lateral reading technique. While reading an article or website online, open a second window to use for researching the source, author, and facts.
Access a wide selection of credible periodicals, journals, and other news content through the St. Louis County Library's databases. For information on which publications housed in the databases and how to use the databases, please view the Electronic Periodical Access libguide below.