Fake news, as a variety of writers and journalists have pointed out, is not a recent development. The interest in it, however, has been renewed in 2017, creating an increased need for ways to evaluate news sources.
As an e-learning company dedicated in large part to teaching the most effective ways to research, analyze, reason, and take action on any topic, Credo Education takes the responsibility of tackling fake news very seriously. After many conversations about ways we might address this problem, we decided that one effort in particular would be worthwhile: launching an investigative project digging into where funding for various media outlets comes from.
We had two goals in mind: 1) give people an easy way to share details about how media organizations stay in business, and 2) shed light on how and why fake news can be born. The end result is a collection of infographics, each focusing on one institution’s basic details:
- Website
- Year established
- Type of organization
- Foreign bureau presence
- Mission statement
- Government and leadership
- Sources of funding
In America and many countries around the world, money can have a remarkable impact on politics. We believe that sorting through the noise and distraction to get at the heart of the matter—finances and people privy to operations—will help readers better understand why one institution may be reporting different information on the same topic than another.
The series is called “Following the $$$ Trail” and first up is National Public Radio, Inc. …
