Political Affiliation and the News - Information Skills - Fake News

Fake News vs. Bad News

Fake news is not the same as bad news!

Fake News: Fabricated stories with no basis in truth or real circumstances

Bad News: Stories that fail to meet high standards of journalism, such as fact-checking, context, and objectivity

Categorizing all politically-biased information (especially the information we disagree with) as "fake news" feeds prejudices and assumptions-- exactly what we are trying to avoid! Read more on the distinction from Snopes.com founder David Mikkelson.

How News Affects America

How Americans Encounter, Recall, and Act Upon Digital News
The Pew Research Center compiled extensive data to show how Americans interact with news. The results help explain the "fake news" crisis.

News Habits in America

Political Polarization & Media Habits
In 2014, the highly respected Pew Research Center compiled extensive research showing how political views influence how we interact with, trust, or share news sources.
The Real Story About Fake News Is Partisanship
Journalist's perspective on political affiliation and the rise of biased news outlets.

News Publications and Bias

You may have seen graphics like the ones below-- and you probably noticed that each is slightly different! This is because analysis is subjective, or based on the unique perspective of the person creating the list. While these types of charts may be helpful for general ideas of political bias of sources, but it is up to YOU to analyze each article for its own merits.

Vanessa Otero. (2018).

William Healy. (2017).

Andrew Ellingsen and Shannon Horton. (2017).