Do you know who’s feeding you the news?

Educators across the globe recognize media literacy as an essential skill for citizens of all ages. With its ratings and detailed Nutrition Label reviews, NewsGuard offers a unique media literacy teaching tool that guides citizens through the overwhelming landscape of online news and information. That’s why NewsGuard has developed a pro-bono news literacy program, through which it has partnered with libraries, schools, nonprofits, and researchers across the globe to help people answer the question: Who is feeding you the news?

NewsGuard’s News Literacy Programs are made possible thanks to generous support from our sponsors

Libraries

700+

From Los Angeles to London to Milan, more than 700 public libraries globally use NewsGuard.

NewsGuard partners with public libraries across the globe that receive free access to its media literacy browser extension and other educational resources. To learn more about the library partnerships, read the NewsGuard Library Partnership Overview or the Q&A with our featured librarian, Andy Lechlak of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library in Ohio, U.S.

Survey of Libraries using NewsGuard:

NewsGuard surveyed 46 members of library staff at the Los Angeles Public Library and Hawaii State Public Libraries in Spring 2019, a few months after the libraries had deployed the browser extension, to hear about staff and patron experiences.

91% strongly agreed or agreed that NewsGuard helps them personally better understand news and information websites.

89% strongly agreed or agreed that NewsGuard helps their patrons or students better understand news and information websites.

80% said they would like social media and search engines to include NewsGuard ratings and write-ups in their news feeds and search results.

Testimonials

“NewsGuard is far and away the best resource we have found that lets people evaluate just what the internet is bringing to their screens. That NewsGuard uses upfront criteria and highly qualified professionals in evaluating websites and makes these recommendations without hindering access in any way is just a real benefit to anyone using the internet today.”

Sean Farrell, Director of The Library of
Hattiesburg Petal & Forrest County (Mississippi, U.S.)

“We are delighted to recommend the NewsGuard initiative to users of libraries across the UK. The unique alerts provided by NewsGuard to the provenance of news websites means that all computer users can be fully informed about the accuracy and source of the information they are reading, enabling them to take their own view about what they are reading.”

Stella Thebridge, chair of the Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians (U.K.)

“Adding this service on computers used by our library patrons continues the long tradition of librarians arming readers with more information about what they are reading.”

Stacey Aldrich, Hawaii State Librarian (U.S.)

Educators

K-12 schools and educators interested in using NewsGuard with their students may apply to receive access to the browser extension for free through 2020.

NewsGuard is free for Turnitin subscriber schools and universities. To learn more and receive free NewsGuard access codes, submit the form on this page.

Universities may license NewsGuard for their students at a heavily discounted rate (see NewsGuard University Rate Card).

Consult the Resources section below for suggested exercises and lesson plans for using NewsGuard in the classroom.

Board of News Literacy Advisors

NewsGuard’s Board of News Literacy Advisors consists of a diverse group of representatives from libraries, schools, and other educational organizations with an expertise and interest in media literacy who help shape and expand NewsGuard’s educational efforts.

Belinha De Abreu

Global media literacy educator (U.S.)

Ilona Kish

Director, Public Libraries 2030 (Europe)

Sarah Morris

Head of Instruction and Engagement, Emory University (U.S.)

Joel Shoemaker

Director, Illinois Prairie District Public Library (U.S.)

Lucie Spicer

Head of Educational Technology, Shout Out UK (U.K.)

Tony Tallent

Chief Program and Innovation Officer, Richland Library (U.S.)

Giovanni Vespoli

Project Manager, Ministry of Education, University and Research, Safer Internet Center - Connected Generations (Italy)

Giuseppe Vitiello

Director, The European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (Europe)

Resources

Click the links below to download NewsGuard’s free resources for teachers, librarians, and parents hoping to use NewsGuard as a media literacy teaching tool:

Educator Resources

Best Practices for Teaching with NewsGuard: A document presenting best practices for incorporating NewsGuard into your classroom.
Guide for Educators (PDF): Created in collaboration with Stony Brook University’s Center for News Literacy, the guide walks through a media literacy lesson plan and ends with suggested exercises, all of which are aligned to Common Core and ISTE standards.
Guide for Students: A packet to provide to your students describing how to use the extension and understand the Red/Green ratings, the Nine Criteria, and the Nutrition Label reviews.
Vocabulary Supplement: A document defining media literacy terms that feature prominently in NewsGuard’s nine criteria and Nutrition Label reviews.
Student Exercise Worksheet: A worksheet that challenges students to “Think Like a NewsGuardian” when evaluating sources and claims.
COVID-19 Media Literacy Resource Packet: A suite of plug-and-play resources for educators to teach a media literacy lesson through the lens of COVID-19 misinformation.
NewsGuard School Success Story: This case study and Q&A highlights how a high school AP Language & Composition teacher used NewsGuard to improve his students’ source evaluation skills.

Library Resources

NewsGuard Library Partnership Overview: This one-page overview provides a brief description about what a library partnership might include and outlines next steps.
Q&A with Featured Library Partner: To read a case study of how one library system uses NewsGuard, see this Q&A with Andy Lechlak, the Digital Strategist for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library in Ohio, US.
One-page NewsGuard Overview Handout: This one-pager provides an overview of what NewsGuard is and how to use it. Many library partners leave this out next to computers to inform patrons about the service.
NewsGuard Library Installation Guide: Libraries seeking to install NewsGuard on their devices can reference this guide for information on installing the extension.