Research Guides: Knowledge Is Power: Fighting Misinformation, Disinformation, and Junk News: Fact-Checking Tools

Real or Fake?

Caption on Facebook: "The flamingos are returning!!!! Venice during quarantine."

The link below this box will take you to the real story. While you're there, consider subscribing to The Sift to discover the latest examples of misinformation -- and ideas for discussing them in the classroom -- in their newsletter for educators, sent on Mondays during the school year.

Real Story of Flamingos in Venice

“The equivalent of taking 20 seconds and washing your hands is very much the same in the information space. If everyone can take 20 seconds, investigate the source, do a quick Google search, stay skeptical, we can eliminate a great deal of the confusion and misinformation out there.”

Reliable News Fact-Checking Sites

FactCheck.org
Annenberg Public Policy Center’s nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
Washington Post's Fact Checker
The purpose of this Web site, and an accompanying column in the Sunday print edition of The Washington Post, is to “truth squad” the statements of political figures regarding issues of great importance, be they national, international or local.
Politifact.com
A fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics, run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times.
Snopes
Since way back in the 90s, Snopes has been dispelling urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.

Reverse Image Searching Tools

Google Image Search
Upload or drag an image to search other places it's been spotted on the Web.
TinEye Reverse Image Search
Reverse image search to "find where images appear online."

Archived Web Sites

Internet Archive Wayback Machine
Search the history of over 745 billion web pages on the Internet.