Navigating the Noise: My Search for Reliable News
How I learned to spot reliable sources and build a more balanced perspective
As I’ve grown older after my university years, I have been on a journey of finding sources for information that are higher in quality than what someone may see as they scroll through their feeds on Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok. Sure, there are the traditional sources that are on those platforms as well, but now more than ever these platforms are riddled with misinformation and conspiracy theories. Don’t get me wrong—I used to love conspiracy theories too when I was younger. Now though, I feel like I have grown past them and I am able to look at the information in front of me and reason my way through it. As I’ve grown tired of those algorithmically chosen articles and opinions floating up my feed, I decided to look into a way that I can find trustworthy news information in our online world.
When I begin to evaluate the source of a piece of information, one place I always check is a site called Media Bias/Fact Check. The site looks a little outdated, but the information that they have is useful. When I am using their site, I always search for the source that I am looking into, for example The New York Times, and I try to take note of a few things they have listed. I look at where they fall on the bias scale and where they rank for factual reporting. Over time, I’ve started using other resources for evaluating sources as well, like Ad Fontes and AllSides. Since I began using these sites, I have noticed that I am now able to better state factual pieces of information when I am having a conversation with someone instead of relying on the talking points that cable news has become consumed with.
Alongside those resources, I also occasionally use ChatGPT or Claude to help me balance out my coverage and get a more rounded view. When looking for sources, I wanted to be well-rounded in my information. I knew I wanted one of the sources to be The New York Times because I really appreciate their journalism, and their ranking sits pretty high on most people’s charts for factual reporting. While I was able to recognize their slight “left” leaning ideologically, I asked ChatGPT to help me balance that out. I asked about the Wall Street Journal and found it comparable to the Times, but with a “right” leaning ideology. One thing I try to keep in mind when using these sources is I won’t be consuming articles from the Opinion section—I’m mainly looking for reporting and analysis only. This approach helps me focus on the facts, rather than commentary.
The Atlantic is another source that I find myself turning to a lot when I want excellent long form journalism. To provide some balance here as well, I subscribed to The Dispatch newsletter for an alternative perspective. For my tech news, I turned to WIRED and The Verge. The Verge seems to cover more mainstream technology, while WIRED goes more niche on tech, but has great reporting on how the tech business works and its role in politics.
Over time, building up this mix of sources has really changed how I approach news and conversations. I feel far more confident in what I know and share, and I encourage others to seek out a broad set of perspectives too. There’s so much information out there, and finding trustworthy, balanced news really does make a difference.