My Top 5 News Sources

            These days, current events move at a mile a minute, and most "news" sources sensationalize and present events in the way that will get them the most traffic, not to best inform the people. It's very important to have news sources you can trust, which can be hard in a sea of misinformation. Here are my Top 5 News Sources, in no particular order.

1. Various Social Media

               Take your pick as to which specific social media you use, with just a bit of searching, it’s not hard to find people talking about current events. Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit are a few examples, but which specific one isn’t important. The reason I chose to include them here is because this is the best way to tell how larger groups of people feel about a current event. The discussions in comments can have people presenting multiple perspectives, and comments can also provide a place to readily call out misinformation (unlike many official news sources). Just make sure you aren’t falling into a social media echo chamber.

 

2. My Parents

               My parents work hard to get multiple perspectives on issues and aren’t incredibly committed to a specific political party, so discussions with them are very interesting. They can help me get a deeper understanding of topics I don’t know much about. They are also great at respecting my beliefs while still holding firmly to their own. It isn’t always easy to find good faith discussions, but my parents are it!

 

3. AP News

               A news source recommended to me by my parents, and for good reason. They advertise themselves as an unbiased news source, and they largely succeed, especially compared to most other official news sources. Being a non-profit gives me some reassurance that they aren’t just giving the flashiest headline, plus their website even has its own section for correcting misinformation.

 

4. Game Design Friends

               As a Game Design major hoping to stay in the know about the industry, I don’t like using regular news sources. I find that most news sources don’t really understand what the video game culture is like, and they feel very superficial. I find that my real-life friends often have both a better understanding of current happenings and can provide a variety of opinions that I trust to be at least decent.

5. YouTube

               I put YouTube on its own, separate from the other social media because of its unique longform content. While it also has some of the same functions of the other social medias, longer content gives creators much more room to explain the issue, the context, and the implications. While you have to avoid misinformation in the same way, the more information being provided, the easier misinformation is to spot. News articles don’t like to go so in-depth because long articles are difficult to digest, but a video format is much better for this.