Learn how to tell whether a source is reliable — and what to do when you're not sure — with practical tools for evaluating sources and spotting misinformation.
Essential Questions
- What makes a source of information reliable, and how can we evaluate whether the news and content we encounter meets that standard?
- How do algorithms, media formats, and the shift from traditional journalism to open publishing shape what information we see and how much we trust it?
- What responsibilities do we have as consumers and sharers of information in a media landscape where content can be created, polished, and spread faster than it can be verified?
Big Ideas
- The Changing News Landscape: The shift from traditional, gated media to open, algorithm-driven publishing means that anyone can produce and spread information instantly, making it more important than ever to evaluate what we consume and share.
- Source Evaluation: Determining the reliability of information requires a repeatable framework — asking who is behind the information, what their intentions are, what type of content they are creating, and what evidence they provide.
- Media Literacy as a Habit: Navigating today's information landscape is not about fact-checking everything, but about building consistent habits of lateral reading, slowing down, and pausing before amplifying.