Some terms to know as you work through this research guide:
Critical Thinking - Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment.
Disinformation - Disinformation is false information which is deliberately intended to mislead—intentionally misstating the facts
Misinformation - Misinformation is false or inaccurate information—getting the facts wrong.
News Literacy - News literacy is a part of media literacy and includes having the critical thinking skills for evaluating (or judging/analyzing) the reliability and credibility of news sources AND new forms of information (that are often mistaken for journalism). News literacy can help us recognize the difference between fact and rumor, news and advertising, news and opinion, and bias and fairness.
Welcome to this research guide designed to teach you to be a critical thinker and give you skills to evaluate the information you encounter online. After reviewing the information in this guide, you should be able to distinguish between misinformation and disinformation in online settings. You should also be able to discover and navigate to reliable information sources.