Research Guides: Social Media: Welcome

Strategies/Techniques for Handling Hot Topics

Conducting academic research on hot topics can be tricky. Make sure you

choose your sources carefully (avoid misinformation) and understand the author's intentions and/or bias.
stick to the facts and logic in your own argument or discussion
recognize the emotional aspect of dealing with controversial topics

For more information, visit the Media Literacy Research Guide.

Counter influence strategies for combating disinformation
Although this report was written for a global audience in light of foreign interference in elections, students can use this information to develop strategies for identifying misinformation in research.

Factcheck.org
This organization checks 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.
Snopes
This highly regarded rumor analyzing site has been researching rumors since 1995.
Politifact
PolitiFact staffers research statements and rate their accuracy on the Truth-O-Meter, from True to False. The most ridiculous falsehoods get the lowest rating, Pants on Fire.
AllSides
Unlike regular news services, AllSides exposes bias and provides multiple angles on the same story so you can quickly get the full picture, not just one slant.
Media Bias/Fact Check
The most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. There are currently 900+ media sources listed in the database and growing every day. Don’t be fooled by Fake News sources.
FullFact
The UK's Independent Fact Checker
Google Fact Check Explorer
Google tool to help users discern what are facts

Tin Eye
TinEye is an image search and recognition company. We are experts in computer vision, pattern recognition, neural networks, and machine learning.