Education about Misinformation
- MediaSmarts – A Canadian resource with education tools for parents, teachers, and teens.
- MediaSmarts Youtube Channel.
- Navigating online information workshop | Cyber Month 2025 (recorded, on Youtube).
- The Poynter Institute – a global journalism nonprofit involved in teaching, publishing, convening, fact-checking and media literacy.
- Science Literacy (Coursera & University of Alberta) – Free. By the end of the course, learners will be able to understand and use scientific evidence to challenge claims based on misinformation and engage the process of science to ask questions to build our knowledge.
- Verified: COVID-19 & Climate Information and Fighting Misinformation – Verified is an initiative of the United Nations, in collaboration with Purpose, to cut through the noise to deliver life-saving information on COVID-19, as well as on the climate crisis.
- Government of Canada – Online Disinformation education page.
Fact-Checking Websites
- MediaSmarts Fact Checker – a custom search engine that lets you search several fact-checkers at once, including: Snopes.com, Agence France Presse Canada, FactCheck.org, Politifact, Washington Post Fact Checker, Associated Press Fact Check, HoaxEye and Les Decrypteurs.
- AFP Fact Check – AFP Fact Check is a department within Agence France-Presse (AFP), a multi-lingual, multicultural news agency whose mission is to provide accurate, balanced and impartial coverage of news wherever and whenever it happens in the world on a continuous basis.
- FactCheck.Org – A project of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Annenberg Public Policy Center, which monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major US political players, such as politicians and lobbyists.
- PolitiFact – Staff from the Tampa Bay Times publish original statements by US political players, check their factual accuracy, and assign each a rating ranging from “True” to “Pants on Fire.”
- Media Bias/Fact Check – Includes a searchable database of media sources and articles that are categorized according to bias, from extreme left to extreme right. Note that “bias” is subjective, and not the same thing as “fact.”
- Snopes – An independent website that covers urban legends, modern folklore, internet rumours, and other stories of questionable origin.
- Hoaxy – A search engine developed by researchers at Indiana University that visualizes how fake news and other claims spread across social media.
More Guides from Libraries and Literacy Organizations
- Evaluating Information Sources (UBC) – this is for upper-level students when doing research for assignments.
- Fake News: Let’s Check a Claim (Indiana University East) – A university creates a fake website, then shows you how to recognize it’s fake news!
- How to Spot Fake News (International Federation of Library Associations) – provides a downloadable poster or jpg image.
- How to Spot Fake News (Toronto Public Library) – step-by-step how to assess whether an information source is credible, or if there is bias.
- Media Smarts (Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy) – provides children and youth with critical thinking skills to engage with media as active and informed digital citizens.
On LinkedIn Learning
Access LinkedIn Learning for free with your Bowen Library card. Login, then search for these course titles:
- Spotting Misinformation Online
- Understanding the Impact of Deepfake Videos
Related Links:
- See also our Cyber Security Subject Guide