How “news literate” are you? This week is National News Literacy Week, with the aim of raising awareness of the difference between credible news sources and false journalism, and exposing the increasing amount of fake news that is used to sell, mislead, persuade, or exploit. Fake news can be widely shared almost instantly on social media platforms.
National News Literacy Week is mainly aimed at educators who are teaching the next generation of news consumers and news sharers to think about where news comes from and to discern the validity and reliability of the source.
Beyond students in the classroom, news literacy affects everyone. A Pew Research Study found that 68% of Americans are concerned about the damage that fake stories which are often quickly shared via social media are causing to the nation.
How can you be sure a story is real? Try to find the source of the information. Real news stories reveal their sources.
The News Literacy Project is a non-partisan non-profit that clearly lists all of the donors to the project. It has a webpage that addresses the biggest viral news stories that have been proven false. A link can be found at WGRT.com.
WGRT Local News Mission & Standards
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
