Evaluating News Sources
1. Does the Webpage look professional, is the article well-written? Is it free from spelling, punctuation and/or grammatical errors?
2. Does the source have a reputation as a reputable news outlet?
Careful--some fake news sources use names or addresses very similar to the real thing. National Report instead of US News and World Report...check the URL. If it has .co or .lo after .com or .org, etc. it is probably a fake news site.
3. Check the About Us section to see if there is detailed, verifiable information about the site or the news source. Does it list an editorial board? Can you contact them?
4. Check the author. Have they written other articles? Can you find a biography page for them?
5. Does it provide more than one point of view? Is it balanced or biased?
6. Is the tone neutral? (An editorial or an opinion piece may have a tone other than neutral, a news story should not.)
7. Can you find this information on other news outlets? Is it backed up by other reputable sources?
Sites to help you verify your information.