January 6, 2021: Attack on Democracy: Evaluating Sources
Response to Capitol Hill Attack
Know your facts
Bristol librarians are dedicated to curating sources that are unbiased, credible, and focused on facts.
We understand that your favorite news source may not be represented on this guide. Here's some of the ways we evaluate sources, and you can do the same to evaluate your preferred news sources.
You will need to create a free account at Checkology to access this tutorial, but we highly recommend you do so.
Author and Authority
Author and Authority
- Who wrote the story?
- Is there a link to their credentials?
- Are they a professional writer, journalist, or expert in the field being covered?
Currency
Currency
- Is the resource giving current information?
- Is the resource updated regularly?
- Look at the dates of stories to be sure you aren't reading "old news."
- Look at the copyright at the bottom of the page to see if the site is being maintained.
Organization
Organization
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Look at the "About Us" link on the website. Who runs the organization?
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How long has it been around?
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Are the people running it journalists? Politicians? Religious affiliates?
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Does the organization have strong ties to one particular affiliation?
Accuracy
Accuracy
- Does the author / article tell you where the information is coming from?
- Are there links to reliable news sources?
- Are there direct quotes from identifiable sources?
- If you are unsure if something is correct, look it up to see if you can verify the information on an additional news source.