Library News Resources
- FACTIVAProvides stories from top newspapers including: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and USA Today.
- Current Events and News (Rutgers LibGuide)Links to various types of consumer information, current event, and popular culture sites.
- The New York TimesRutgers University Libraries’ subscription to The New York Times allows all Rutgers affiliates to create free NYTimes.com personal accounts, which provide full access to NYTimes.com and The New York Times app.
- The Wall Street JournalDirect access to the Wall Street Journal. (Rutgers Restricted)
- Rutgers Libraries Newspaper GuideA guide to the primary databases and collections for newspapers. Also includes links for NY, NJ, PA newspapers. Current and Historical
Before you Share
BEFORE YOU SHARE
A bit about CLICKBAIT. Every time a story is clicked on, money is made. It doesn't matter if it is accurate or authoritative- YOU must determine those qualities before you share or click.
EMOTION: What emoji does it make you want to use? Misinformation, disinformation and propaganda are all designed specifically to elicit a strong emotional response. Check your confirmation bias, approach with informed skepticism.
VERIFY: Are there links to other sources to back up the facts? Does the information appear on other news sites? Can you find the original source of a story or image shared widely on social media? Can it be verified by fact checking websites?
AUTHORS: Google the author. What else have they the written? Find information to determine authority.
SOURCE: Check the URL. What is the source's intent? Links to other sources? Reverse Google search images that accompany the article. Verify embedded videos and tweets.
Voter Information
- RU VotingRU Voting is the resource Rutgers students, administrators, and faculty rely upon for registration and Election Day information.
- StudentVote.orgThe Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project is America’s oldest and largest nonpartisan youth voter mobilization program.
- VOTE411Provides nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific information on the following aspects of the election process:
- Vote.orgVote.org uses technology to simplify political engagement, increase voter turnout, and strengthen American democracy.
- Elections and Voting in the United StatesStarting points for finding information on elections and voting on the federal and state levels.
- Voting and Elections ToolkitAmerican Library Association's Guide on Voting and Elections
- Election ProtectionThe national, nonpartisan Election Protection coalition works year-round to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have that vote count
Reference and Instruction Librarian
Election 2024 Information
ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 5, 2024
"The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy." - Rep. John Lewis
WHAT ARE MY VOTING RIGHTS? Election Protection from Vote.org
****Witness or Experience Voter Suppression? Call 866-OUR-VOTE******
AM I REGISTERED TO VOTE? Check your Voter Registration Status
WHERE DO I VOTE? Find your Polling Place
Check the Source. Confirm the Facts.
It is important for all voters to be informed voters.
The spread of misinformation, disinformation and propaganda is a threat to the voting process and to democracy.
It is vital that voters learn how to sort the factual information from the misinformation.
Use the links and tools in this guide to find, and most importantly, verify, information related to the election.
*Election related information is meant to be persuasive and there will always be bias, but emphasizing facts, fact checking and understanding the intent and purpose of that bias will help in becoming a better informed voter. *
Learn more about misinformation, disinformation and propaganda here: Evaluating News Sources
PolitiFact (https://www.politifact.com/)
This website is a less biased website with high factual reporting. It is known for it's Truth-O-Meter ratings system that ranges from true to "pants on fire". The fact checking can be browsed by issue, individual and rating among others. There is a special section of coverage for the 2024 Election.
Associated Press (AP): Election 2024 (https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024)
This site has high factual reporting and includes data on the elections such as campaign information and google search trends on election topics.
FactCheck 2024 Election (https://www.factcheck.org)
This site monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. There is evidence of high factual reporting and provides these facts with the least amount of bias.
Open Secrets (https://www.opensecrets.org)
Open Secrets is from the Center for Responsive Politics and is rated as a least biased source with very high factual reporting. This is a source used by fact checkers and fact checking sites with highly factual and well sourced reporting. Focusing on the funding of and by politicians the resource provides information on federal campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis.
Vote Smart (https://justfacts.votesmart.org)
This source is one of the least biased sources and is known to have high factual reporting. Provides consistent, factual information regardless of political party. Provides factual information on politician's which includes: biographies, issue positions, voting records, public statements, ratings and funding. Comments by politicians that have been proven false by reputable fact checking organizations are marked by a Bull icon.
- AP Fact CheckFact-checking and accountability journalism from AP journalists around the globe
- Lead StoriesLead Stories focuses on trending stories and topics in order to detect and debunk the latest trending fake news stories and hoaxes found on known fake news sites & networks, prank generators and satirical websites.
- SnopesKnown as the "definitive internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation". Provides fact checking and resources and further reading on topics.
Verifying Images
It is important to look carefully at images and research their source. Things to look out for:
- blurred backgrounds
- garbled text
- weird fingers
- architecture
- hair impossibilities
- overly rendered- especially faces/skin
- accessories off
- historical anomaly/anachronism
- symmetry and complex patterns
Reverse Image Searching: A quick an easy way to validate information is to research the images that accompany it. An out of context or faked/photo-shopped image will immediately indicate that the information could be misleading or false. Reverse image searching is also useful in tracking where an image or story originated in order to better understand the information and intent.
AI Detection: AI detecting websites are not 100% reliable in identifying AI images, but may be useful for checking source and context.
- Google Reverse Image SearchSearch for similar images, websites where an image appears, and other information that will help verify or put more context on an image. When using Chrome, right clicking allows for easy reverse image searching.
- TinEyeA reverse image tracker that specializes in copyright and intellectual property violations. Searches only for exact duplicates of images.
- Hive ModerationChecks text, images, video and audio. Chrome extension available.
- Deepfake DetectorUpload images or provide URL of social media posts to verify authenticity.
Additional Resources and Tools
- Evaluating News SourcesGeneral Guidelines for evaluating news sources, detecting fake news, identifying digital disinformation and avoiding propaganda.
- Media Bias/Fact CheckMedia Bias/Fact Check (MBFC News), founded in 2015, is an independent online media outlet. MBFC News is dedicated to educating the public on media bias and deceptive news practices. Rates sources by bias and factual reporting.
- Federal Election CommitteeThe Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing the federal campaign finance law with a mission to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and fairly enforcing and administering federal campaign finance laws.
Types of Information
It is vital to understand the types of misinformation and disinformation that exist in order to understand and combat them. Manipulated, false and deceitful information is pervasive, especially on social media. Satire can be difficult to determine at first glance. Information is often misleading and misinterpreted due to a lack or loss of context. The misinformation matrix below will help you determine the characteristics of these different types. Propaganda is especially dangerous in influencing voters.
From: First Draft News