Check your FACTS. NEVER rely on Facebook for truthful information, even if it’s what you want to believe. You may need to spend a little time doing research, but it’s important to be factual and truthful in what you post on social media and what you send to your elected politicians. Here are several websites to make that easier for you.
The current U.S. president garnered more untruthful ‘trophies’ than anyone else during the election campaign. Just because the red states voters still voted for him to enable him to win the electoral college does NOT mean that those of us opposed to him should give up on the TRUTH! It was NOT the majority of Americans that believed LIES!
Here are some websites that can help you check your facts. These are reliable websites that I have checked out from a variety of unbiased resources including https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/2016/07/20/the-10-best-fact-checking-sites; http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/best-fact-checking-websites; www.skeptical-science.com/critical-thinking/top-5-fact-checking-websites
Descriptions in quotation marks are from their website about what they do. Other quotations are referenced by the source.
Politifact: www.politifact.com
To learn more about their background see: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/blog/2011/oct/06/who-pays-for-politifact
They won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2008 and are often cited by a variety of sources as the best, least biased, most accurate political fact checking source, e.g.: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/2016/07/20/the-10-best-fact-checking-sites
FactCheck: www.factcheck.org
“FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state and federal levels.:
FlackCheck: politics.flackcheck.org
“Headquartered at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, FlackCheck.org is the political literacy companion site to the award-winning FactCheck.org. The site provides resources designed to help viewers recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular.”
The Washington Post FactChecker: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker
“The purpose of this Web site, and an accompanying column in the Sunday print edition of The Washington Post, is to “truth squad” the statements of political figures regarding issues of great importance, be they national, international or local.” The Media Bias Fact Check states “Their fact checks are excellent and sourced; however their bias is reflected in the fact that they fact check right wing claims more than left.” https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/2016/07/20/the-10-best-fact-checking-sites/
Snopes: www.snopes.com
Note that the stories about Snopes being biased, reporting false stories as true, etc., are NOT true as determined by independent fact checkers. “[A] reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.”
Open Secrets: www.opensecrets.org/lobby
Open Secrets, Center for Responsive Politics, tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. “It allows you to easily track campaign spending and contributions and tracks the money that the private sector, industry groups, unions, and other lobbyists spend to lobby Congress.”
Sunlight Foundation: sunlightfoundation.com
“The Sunlight Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make government more accountable to all.”
False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical News Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources/Zimdars’_fake_news_list
This list was compiled by Melissa Zimders, associate professor of communications at Merrimack College, North Andover, MA. It helps you to identify what might be bogus news sources.
Poynter Institute, A Global Leader in Journalism: www.poynter.org
“The Poynter Institute is not a true fact checking service. They are however a leader in distinguished journalism and produce nothing but credible and evidence based content. If Poynter reports it, you can count on it being true.” https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/2016/07/20/the-10-best-fact-checking-sites
Stop Fake News on Facebook: www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/heres-how-to-report-fake-news-on-facebook?utm_term=.abQVJAy1J#.xbn8A7Z4A
This site gives steps to take when you see what you know to be fake news on Facebook.
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,. Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech