Disinformation, Misinformation, and Fake News Teach-Out
Evaluating Our Sources of Information / Lesson 10 of 10
What information are you really getting: Check Your News Diet
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News Diet: You don’t know until you check
You might feel pretty confident about where you get your news from, or you might have begun to question your news diet during this Teach-Out.
Take a step back and actually check what news your consuming by tracking:
- Where you found it (social media, public radio, TV network, etc)
- The reputation of the source
- The type of story (opinion, blog, news article, etc)
- How much it reinforces what you already knew or believed
- The overall quality
Do this for at least a day. A week is even better. You can jot it down on paper or use a worksheet:
*If you do not have access to Microsoft Excel, you can install Open Office for free (instructions here), or upload the Excel file as a Google Spreadsheet (instructions here).
After tracking, take a moment to reflect. Look for patterns and relationships between where and how you get your news, the kind of news you get, and its quality.
Here are a few questions you may want to consider:
- Do I get enough quality news that reflects multiple political stances?
- Do I know the places I get news from and seek it out intentionally?
- Is there anything I want to change about my news diet?