How to Read the News

News vs. opinion

• News reports what happened: who, what, when, where.
• Opinion (op-eds, columns, commentary, most podcasts) argues a side.
• Analysis explains why something matters.

All three are useful. The trouble starts when you mistake opinion for news.

Headlines aren’t the story

Headlines are written to get clicks. Read past them before you react or share. The details often say something different.

Before you share, check

1. Who’s behind it? A known outlet, an expert, an anonymous account, a brand?
2. When is it from? Old stories and photos get recycled as breaking news.
3. What do others say? Open new tabs and search. Fact-checkers call this lateral reading.
4. Is there a primary source? The actual report, video, court filing or full quote beats a screenshot of it.
5. Is it satire? Sites like The Onion write fake news on purpose, as jokes.

Fakes and AI

• AI-generated images and video can look real. Look for weird hands, warped text and backgrounds that melt, and check whether real outlets are reporting it.
• Deepfake audio can copy anyone’s voice.
• Out-of-context clips: a real video, cut to change what it seems to show.

Everyone has a lens

Every outlet chooses which stories to cover and how. That doesn’t make them all equally reliable. Read a few different sources, and notice when a story makes you angry fast: that’s when you should slow down.