2020 VOTE

Be An Informed Voter

Fact-checking is an important skill -- not only does it help you ensure that your college research and writing are free of bias and inaccuracies, but it also ensures that you are an informed consumer and citizen.  

These are some well-known, reputable fact-checking sites that publish their findings online for quick reference:

• FactCheck.org:  "a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor 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."
   
• LogicCheck: LogicCheck was inspired by the many fact-checking sites and sources dedicated to using principles and best practices of journalism to help citizens sort truth from falsehood during an age of political polarization and “fake news.”  The LogicCheck project supports this same goal with a mission to look at not just facts, but arguments into which those facts fit.
   
• Media Bias/Fact Check:  "We are the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet.  There are currently 900+ media sources listed in our database and growing every day.  Don’t be fooled by Fake News sources."
   
• NewsGuard: "NewsGuard employs a team of trained journalists and experienced editors to review and rate news and information websites based on nine journalistic criteria. The criteria assess basic practices of credibility and transparency. "
   
• PolitiFact:  "a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. PolitiFact is run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida."

• Snopes.com  "a fact-checking website dating back to the 1990s. Members of the public can submit a claim, and researchers will investigate it for legitimacy and assign it one of several rankings, ranging from “true” and “mostly true” to “false” and “legend.”"

• AllSides "breaks trending topics down to three stories, written by sources identified as from the left, from the right, and from the center. The site also has bias ratings for more than 600 media outlets and individual writers."

Find similar sites, from all over the globe, with the Duke Reporters' Lab fact-checking database.

You can also use the SJR State Library to conduct political research. Here are a few recommended databases to get you started:

• Statista: With Statista, you can access the most recent and relevant statistics and studies on a specific topic by simply entering a keyword. Statista aggregates statistical data on over 600 international industries from more than 18,000 sources, including market researchers, trade organizations, scientific journals, and government databases.

• Opposing Viewpoints:  Online experience for those seeking contextual information and opinions on hundreds of today's hottest social issues. Drawing on the acclaimed Greenhaven Press series, the new solution features continuously updated viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, statistics, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience.

• Academic Search Complete: Academic Search Complete, designed specifically for academic institutions, is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.

Learn more about voting and elections in the U.S.