On what to believe. . .
Get Your Facts Right – 6 Fact Checking Websites That Help You Know The Truth
http://www.factcheck.org/
http://www.politifact.com/
http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php
http://snopes.com/
http://www.truthorfiction.com/
http://www.hoax-slayer.com
For the whole article that I think you'll find very informative, please click:
http://www.vikitech.com/454/get-your-facts-right-6-fact-checking-websites-that-help-you-know-the-truth
And here are tree more sources for you:
http://urbanlegends.about.com /
http://mediamatters.org/ (very liberal!)
http://newsbusters.org/ (very conservative!)
IN GENERAL:
* If something has been forwarded to you, it's almost always garbage. Please, please, please check it out before you forward it to others.
* If you can't verify what you want with any of the above sources, here's another thing that usually works . . . type into a Google search the first 5 or 6 words of whatever is being forwarded to you . . . you'll very often see others who have information on it.
* Consider the objective of the thing that's been forwarded. Again, if it is to "bad mouth" somebody (e.g., a politician), it is also garbage--regardless of the party being attacked.
* Check more than one of the above sources to get at the truth.
* Has source information been given? Even if so, verify the source information yourself. Just because somebody says it "has been reported on snopes.com" doesn't mean that's the case.
*Check mainstream media--e.g., THE WALL STREET JOURNAL or THE NEW YORK TIMES--before you even begin to think about accepting something as gospel.
* Attempt to read both sides of an issue. See above on the JOURNAL and TIMES. Also, view TV programs that attempt coverage of the news; e.g., WASHINGTON WEEK on PBS; McLaughlin Report, also on PBS (he is very conservative, but his panel is balanced); and lately, I've started watching MORNING JOE on MSNBC (he's conservative, but his guests frequently are not).
http://www.factcheck.org/
http://www.politifact.com/
http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php
http://snopes.com/
http://www.truthorfiction.com/
http://www.hoax-slayer.com
For the whole article that I think you'll find very informative, please click:
http://www.vikitech.com/454/get-your-facts-right-6-fact-checking-websites-that-help-you-know-the-truth
And here are tree more sources for you:
http://urbanlegends.about.com /
http://mediamatters.org/ (very liberal!)
http://newsbusters.org/ (very conservative!)
IN GENERAL:
* If something has been forwarded to you, it's almost always garbage. Please, please, please check it out before you forward it to others.
* If you can't verify what you want with any of the above sources, here's another thing that usually works . . . type into a Google search the first 5 or 6 words of whatever is being forwarded to you . . . you'll very often see others who have information on it.
* Consider the objective of the thing that's been forwarded. Again, if it is to "bad mouth" somebody (e.g., a politician), it is also garbage--regardless of the party being attacked.
* Check more than one of the above sources to get at the truth.
* Has source information been given? Even if so, verify the source information yourself. Just because somebody says it "has been reported on snopes.com" doesn't mean that's the case.
*Check mainstream media--e.g., THE WALL STREET JOURNAL or THE NEW YORK TIMES--before you even begin to think about accepting something as gospel.
* Attempt to read both sides of an issue. See above on the JOURNAL and TIMES. Also, view TV programs that attempt coverage of the news; e.g., WASHINGTON WEEK on PBS; McLaughlin Report, also on PBS (he is very conservative, but his panel is balanced); and lately, I've started watching MORNING JOE on MSNBC (he's conservative, but his guests frequently are not).
Source: BLAINESWORLD, my online newsletter (issues 820 and 821) . . . if you'd like to get on my FREE mailing list for this missive, just send an email to [email protected] and put SUBSCRIPTION in subject line . . . in return, you'll get some websites, hoepfully not tooooo risque; websites; reviews, etc.