The Founders believed that an informed citizenry—supported by free speech, a free press, and public education—was essential for democracy, enabling debates based on shared facts. Although public discourse has long been marred by conspiracy theories and hate speech, the circulation of claims of election fraud has severely undermined confidence in the system. Falsehoods can rapidly proliferate online, misleading the public about candidates and policies, distorting democratic dialogue, and eroding the public's trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard their voices. The spread of mis- and disinformation poses a critical threat to informed decision-making of the US electorate and our democratic processes and institutions.

Understand the biases of your media sources and fact-check news by visiting:

The Media Bias Chart,by Ad Fontes Media, rates various media sources on two different scales: political bias and reliability.

All Sides Media Bias Chart rates the bias of media outlets and writers using blind surveys, user ratings, multi-partisan, other analyses.

VerbaAI’s Fact Check Feed for reliable updates from leading fact-checking organizations on news and rumors concerning the U.S. Government and Politics.

Duke Reporters Lab for additional resources.

Listen to NPR’s Life Kit on “Fake News: How to spot misinformation.”

Review News Literacy Project’s RumorGuard to learn to evaluate a claim and related techniques.

Check out Pew Research Center’s “How Americans Navigate Politics on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram” and “Social Media Fact Sheet” for additional insight.

Share LWV - Snohomish County’s "Fact or Fiction" trifold brochure with your network.

Monitor VerbaAI's LWV Utah Researchto gain critical, AI-powered insights on current developments in key areas of interest (climate change, U.S. public lands, education, healthcare and government.) Deepen your understanding on topics by querying VerbaAI’s comprehensive database.

Take News Literacy Project’s News Literacy Quiz

Visit LWV- Minnesota’s Know Your News Guide for tips on spotting / combating dis/mis- information and minimizing news overload.

Read FiveThirtyEight’s “When to Trust a Story that Uses Unnamed Sources.”

Listen to NPR’s Life Kit on “To combat misinformation, start with connections, not correction.”

Learn to calmly engage in difficult conversations through Dignity Index resources.

Watch News Literacy Project’s “Productive conversations without confrontation” webinar. 

View short, free Braver Angels’ eCourses on interacting with people in difficult situations or view LIving Room Conversations' guides.