Recognizing News and Stories

Many news articles and information sources will contain a point of view. Information consumers should read with an open and critical mind. 

Beware of "Sponsored Stories," "Promoted Stories," and "Around the Web" content on legitimate news websites!

The Code of Ethics by the Society of Professional Journalists declares that ethical journalists should "distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two” and “prominently label sponsored content.”

Recognizing the difference between news reporting and paid content by advertisers is key to challenging fake news. Check to see if content is marked as promoted, sponsored, or as an advertisement.

When it comes to fighting clickbait and fake news, the best way to outfox advertisers and their algorithms is to simply refuse to click.

Generally trustworthy sources for news and information

Below are links to various News sources that can be trusted to deliver the news.

Domestic news sources

• Barron's (website) and Barron's (database)
• Chicago Tribune
• The Christian Science Monitor
• ​The Chronicle of Higher Education
• Education Week
• Los Angeles Times
• The New York Times (website) and New York Times (database)
• ​USA Today
• The Wall Street Journal (website) and Wall Street Journal (database)
• The Washington Post
• Wired

Official US government sources:

• USA.gov - Official portal for US government services and information
• Budget of the United States Government
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• United States Congress

Independent news outlets:

• AP News - Not-for-profit news cooperative covering worldwide breaking news and investigative reporting
• C-SPAN - Coverage of unedited political and non-political public policy events, interviews and historical programs
• Reuters - Reuters' editorial policy states: "We are committed to reporting the facts and in all situations avoid the use of emotive terms. The only exception is when we are quoting someone directly or in indirect speech."

Financial news:

• The Economist
• Financial Times
• Forbes
• Fortune

International news outlets:

• Arabic: Al Jazeera English (**Also see Al Jazeera international coverage)
• British: BBC News (**Also see BBC international coverage)
• British: The Guardian
• British: openDemocracy
• Canadian: National Post
• Russian: Russian Times
• French: Le Monde
• Italy: La Repubblica
• South Africa: Sunday Times
• South Africa: City Press
• Kenya: Daily Nation

Maheshwari, Sapna, and John Herrman. "Publishers are Rethinking those ‘Around the Web’ Ads." New York Times, Oct 30 2016, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1835126966?accountid=10932.