Read beyond the headline - What's the whole story? Be wary of outrageous headlines, or "clickbait", designed to grab your attention, such as ads disguised as news.
Consider the source - What's the purpose of the website? Is it objective, impartial, unbiased? Read the "About Us" section to learn about its mission. Look for contact information. Pay attention to the URL; be wary of websites with unusual domains such as .com or .co.
Check the author(s) - Are they real? What are their credentials? What qualifies them as experts on the subject they are writing about?
Check the date - When was the information published? Has it been revised or updated? Some websites repost old news stories.
Check the links - Are they working? Do they take you to other credible websites? Don't trust an article or website with a lot of broken links.
Check the comments - Clickbait stories generate a lot of comment, especially on social media, and many call out the article for being fake or misleading.
Evaluate supporting quotes - Who or what is being quoted? Is the source real? Is it credible? Does the information reinforce the story's claims?
Ask:"Is this a joke?" - Writers often use satire to expose corruption of an individual or a society. Satirical articles are not reliable sources for research.
Ask:"Are my own beliefs affecting my judgment?" - Confirmation bias lead people to accept information that confirms their beliefs and ignore information that doesn't. Seek contrasting view points to develop a more well-rounded understanding of the issue.
Conduct a reverse image search - A photo should accurately reflect what the article is about.
Five C's of Critical Consuming by John Spencer
Context - Look at the context of the article. When was it written? Where does it come from? Have the events changed since then? Is there any new information that could change your perspective?
Credibility - Check the credibility of the source. Does the site have a reputation for journalistic integrity? Does the author cite credible sources? Or is it satirical? Is it on a list of fake news sites? Is it actually an advertisement posing as a real news story?
Construction - Analyze the construction of the article. What is the bias? Are there any loaded words? Any propaganda techniques? Any omissions that you should look out for? Can you distinguish between the facts and opinions? Or is it simply all speculation?
Corroboration - Corroborate the information with other credible news sources. Make sure it’s not the only source making the claim. If it is, there’s a good chance it’s actually not true.
Compare - Compare it to other news sources to get different perspectives. Find other credible sources from other areas of the ideological or political spectrum to provide nuance and get a bigger picture of what’s actually happening.
Stop sharing!
If you don't know if it is true, don't send it to someone else.
Get out of your information bubble
Seek out news from a variety of sources.
Try a search engine other than Google
Try using different search engines, search engines are NOT neutral.
Know that media bias is real
Be aware and critical of your own personal, moral and political biases.
Be a skeptical reader
Look for information, photos, and language that leans to a particular point of view.
Dig deeper
Try to verify what you are reading from other sources.
Question language
How does your news outlet refer to or describe conflict/issues? Be aware of inflammatory words, stereotypes or imagery.
Give breaking news stories time to develop
The full story takes time to report accurately. Breaking news stories will often get the facts wrong. Give time for a story to be discovered.