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News Literacy
A Project of the News Access and Literacy Team
of the League of Women Voters of Larimer County


Contact News Access and Literacy Team

News Literacy: Vital for Democracy

News literacy is the ability to judge the credibility or trustworthiness of news and to recognize misinformation and disinformation.


Everyday, Americans are bombarded with news and information from television, radio, newspapers, and social media.



This abundance has created unprecedented challenges to being well-informed. How truthful is our news? How can we tell fact from opinion? Are we hearing and passing along information that is reliable?


We here at the Larimer League encourage everyone to become more news literate. We’ve gathered a wide variety of carefully vetted resources, designed to help you determine the credibility and reliability of your news sources.



Tools for Spotting Misinformation and Disinformation

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Misinformation Has a Real Impact on the World. 
Did you know that sites that publish misinformation net over $2 billion in global advertising revenue (Statista, 2024), or that 38% of people admit to having accidentally shared false information online (Statista, 2024)? Click HERE to learn how to become WISER and help slow the spread of misinformation. WISER is a research-informed solution to combatting disinformation and was developed by educators at Regis University.

 

Get Smart About News - The News Literacy Project

How news-literate are you? Test and sharpen your news literacy skills with short activities, engaging quizzes and shareable graphics for learners of all ages. Read it HERE.

DeBunking False Stories - from Factcheck.org

"We provide several resources for readers: a guide on how to flag suspicious stories on Facebook and a list of websites that have carried false or satirical articles, as well as a video and story on how to spot false stories." Read the article HERE.

Just for Teens

Teen Fact-Checking Network - Poynter

"TFCN fact-checks...debunk misinformation and teach media literacy skills so teens can fact-check on their own. On average, 86% of respondents polled...reported they were more likely to fact-check on their own after watching a TFCN fact-check story." Includes good information about how teens can become better information consumers.  Check it out HERE.

Ad Fontes…Home of the Media Bias Chart®

Ad Fontes is Latin for "to the source."  Ad Fontes uses rigorous, non-partisan methodology to analyze the source and actual content of news.  Ad Fontes Media is a public benefit corporation with a mission to make news consumers smarter and news media better.  Read about it HERE

Your Guide to Misinformation and Disinformation

Misinformation and disinformation are two of the most insidious tools used to undermine our democracy and the value of every person’s voice. The League of Women Voters has tips on how to recognize and stop them. Read it HERE.

How to Spot AI Manipulation
So what do you need to know about sorting fact from AI fiction? And how can we think about using AI responsibly? This NPR article by Shannon Bond gives tips for spotting AI manipulation.  You can read it 
HERE.

War on Pineapple:  Understanding Foreign Interference in 5 Steps

This infographic from the Department of Homeland Security is a tongue-in-cheek approach using pizza toppings to teach at how foreign adversaries conduct malign information operations in an attempt to inflame hot button issues in the United States. Read it HERE.

Navigating Misinformation

Presented by the Institute for Policy and Design, "Navigating Misinformation" is a series that explores ways to address misinformation and disinformation in our diverse communities and its effects on journalism, scientific information, trust, and democracy. It can be found HERE.

LWV/NICD Network Resources
The League of Women Voters and the National Institute for Civil Discourse provide a weekly newsletter filled with events related to civil discourse and news literacy.  Sign up to receive the newsletter Here.
Tools of Disinformation:  Inauthentic Content
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) produced this graphic to highlight tactics used by disinformation campaigns that seek to disrupt American life and the infrastructure that underlies it. CISA’s publication of information materials about this issue are intended for public awareness. You can find this graphic HERE.

Fake News Marketplace

To watch the recording of the "Fake News Marketplace: How it Works and Why it Matters" presentation with Dr. Justin McBrayer, click here.


Featured Articles, Podcasts, Webinars

Shirin Ali: Media Literacy is Desperately Needed in Classrooms Around the Country, Experts Say, The Hill
As misinformation and disinformation have inundated the internet on topics ranging from the current conflict in Ukraine to COVID-19, advocates are pushing to have media literacy taught in schools. That’s a process of critically assessing information found on the internet, which experts argue is becoming increasingly essential to the well-being and full participation in economic and civic life. Click HERE to read.

Kai Kuppferschmidt: Detecting Bullshit - Studying the spread of misinformation should become a top scientific priority, says biologist Carl Bergstrom, Science
An evolutionary biologist at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle, Bergstrom has studied the evolution of cooperation and communication in animals, influenza pandemics, and the best ways to rank scientific journals. But over the past 5 years, he has become more and more interested in how “bullshit” spreads through our information ecosystem. Click HERE to read.

John Henley: How Finland Starts Its Fight Against Fake News in Primary Schools, The Guardian
With democracies around the world threatened by the seemingly unstoppable onslaught of false information, Finland – recently rated Europe’s most resistant nation to fake news – takes the fight seriously enough to teach it in primary school. Click HERE to read.

Jeremy Nuttall:  Never Say Fake News! Plus Other Advice from Taiwan on Countering Disinformation, The Toronto Star
Taiwan’s success in battling online disinformation campaigns can yield lessons for other countries also struggling to counter false narratives and mistruths shared online, says the country’s digital minister. Click HERE to read.

Charlie Warzel, Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole, New York Times

Resist the lure of rabbit holes by following the SIFT strategy:  Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims, quotes, references in the article. Click HERE to read.




Legislation

Colorado House Bill (HB21-1103) - 
Concerning Implementing Media Literacy in School Curricula

Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado House Bill HB21-1103 into law on May 27, 2021. The act requires the department of education (department) to create and maintain an online resource bank of materials and resources pertaining to media literacy. At a minimum, the resource bank must include the materials and resources recommended in the media literacy advisory committee's report. The department shall promulgate rules, if necessary, to implement a procedure through which a person may provide comment on a material or resource within the resource bank, including a comment recommending the removal or inclusion of a material or resource within the resource bank.

The act requires the department, upon the request of a school district, district charter school, institute charter school, or board of cooperative services, and subject to available resources, to provide technical assistance to a school district, district charter school, institute charter school, or board of cooperative services with implementing policies and procedures, best practices, and recommendations related to media literacy.

The act clarifies that a school district, district charter school, institute charter school, or board of cooperative services is not required to adopt or implement any material or resource from the resource bank into its curriculum.

The act requires the state board of education to review and adopt revisions that implement media literacy within reading, writing, and civics standards.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)


Read the entire bill HERE


SPJ Code of Ethics


Seek Truth and Report It
 

Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.


Minimize Harm

Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.

Act Independently

The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.


Be Accountable and Transparent

Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.

Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics

Read the Long Version HERE