Fake News
A collection of resources to assist readers and researchers in spotting fake news and fake news sources.
Fact-checking resources
These sources can help you verify the truth or falsity of specific claims.
- SnopesSnopes began in 1994 examining urban legends, but has expanded to general fact-checking.
- Media Bias / Fact CheckA site that examines bias in media from all points of the political spectrum. It includes a "Daily Source Bias Check" that examines the truthfulness and bias of various news sources.
- Fact CheckA non-partisan site that focuses on political claims.
- PolitifactA site that rates the accuracy of claims made by U.S. politicians with the Truth-o-Meter.
- Lead StoriesFact-checks stories that are trending.
- False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical 'News' SourcesTips and tricks for spotting questionable news sites. The list is maintained by Melissa Zimdars, assistant professor of Communications at Merrimack College.
- authentiSciA Chrome browser extension that allows scientists to check the authenticity of a science news item, showing readers a "score" that tells them how accurately the article describes the science.
News sources
- Google NewsHeadlines collected from multiple news sources.
- Newspaper databases at UMassNewspapers and news databases subscribed to by UMass Libraries.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
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Large database of US and international newspapers.
Verifying information using databases
Often social media and traditional media will report on an academic study. The accuracy of these reports can vary. The conclusions of a study may be misreported, either because the writer misinterpreted, or intentionally for "click bait" purposes. It can be difficult to verify the claims made in the media, because the original study is not linked or widely available.
The library has access to hundreds of article databases with full text of academic studies. If you are interested whether the media are reporting a study accurately, you can find it in one of these databases. Ask a librarian for help in using the databases.
- UMass subscribed databases (A-Z list)List of databases subscribed to by UMass. Can be filtered by subject and format.
- JournalTOCsJournalTOCs is a current awareness service, notifying a user when new journal articles are published.
