Muting Misinformation: Resources For Identifying And Dealing With Misinformation

We may be on our own in the world of internet misinformation, but we don't lack resources. An expert industry is developing about misinformation, how to spot it and how to better understand the strange world of information on the internet.

Since we can't rely on lawsuits, social media companies or imminent legal reforms to combat political misinformation, individual Americans need to get on top of misinformation, to avoid polluting our own minds and the collective mind of our country. The process of doing so may actually turn out to be interesting and fulfilling.

There are a lot of ways to approach your media literacy and misinformation-fighting self-education.

To begin with, you can regularly consult fact-checking services that supply helpful analysis of disputed or questionable claims. For political news, the "big three" fact checking organizations are PolitiFact, FactCheck.org – both supported by non-profit organizations – and the Washington Post's