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How do you know what's happening in your world?

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The amount of information just a click away

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may be limitless,

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but the time and energy we have

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to absorb and evaluate it is not.

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All the information in the world won't be very useful

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unless you know how to read the news.

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To your grandparents, parents,

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or even older siblings,

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this idea would have sounded strange.

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Only a few decades ago, news was broad-based.

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Your choices were limited

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to a couple of general interest magazines

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and newspaper of record,

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and three or four TV networks

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where trusted newscasters delivered the day's news

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at the same reliable time every evening.

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But the problems with this system soon became apparent

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as mass media spread.

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While it was known that authoritarian countries

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controlled and censored information,

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a series of scandals showed that

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democratic governments were also misleading the public,

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often with media cooperation.

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Revelations of covert wars, secret assassinations,

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and political corruption

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undermined public faith in official narratives

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presented by mainstream sources.

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This breakdown of trust in media gatekeepers

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lead to alternative newspapers, radio shows, and cable news

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competing with the major outlets and covering events

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from various perspectives.

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More recently, the Internet has multiplied the amount

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of information and viewpoints,

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with social media, blogs, and online video

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turning every citizen into a potential reporter.

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But if everyone is a reporter, nobody is,

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and different sources may disagree,

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not only opinions, but on the facts themselves.

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So how do you get the truth, or something close?

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One of the best ways is to get the original news

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unfiltered by middlemen.

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Instead of articles interpreting a scientific study

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or a politician's speech,

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you can often find the actual material and judge for yourself.

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For current events, follow reporters on social media.

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During major events, such as the Arab Spring

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or the Ukrainian protests,

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newscasters and bloggers have posted updates and recordings

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from the midst of the chaos.

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Though many of these later appear in articles or broadcasts,

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keep in mind that these polished versions

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often combine the voice of the person who was there

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with the input of editors who weren't.

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At the same time, the more chaotic the story,

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the less you should try to follow it in real time.

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In events like terrorist attacks and natural disasters,

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today's media attempts continuous coverage

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even when no reliable new information is available,

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sometimes leading to incorrect information

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or false accusations of innocent people.

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It's easy to be anxious in such events,

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but try checking for the latest information

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at several points in the day,

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rather than every few minutes,

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allowing time for complete details to emerge

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and false reports to be refuted.

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While good journalism aims for objectivity,

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media bias is often unavoidable.

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When you can't get the direct story,

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read coverage in multiple outlets

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which employ different reporters and interview different experts.

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Tuning in to various sources and noting the differences

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lets you put the pieces together

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for a more complete picture.

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It's also crucial to separate fact from opinion.

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Words like think, likely, or probably

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mean that the outlet is being careful

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or, worse, taking a guess.

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And watch out for reports that rely on anonymous sources.

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These could be people who have little connection to the story,

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or have an interest in influencing coverage,

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their anonymity making them unaccountable

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for the information they provide.

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Finally, and most importantly,

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try to verify news before spreading it.

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While social media has enabled the truth

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to reach us faster,

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it's also allowed rumors to spread

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before they can be verified

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and falsehoods to survive

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long after they've been refuted.

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So, before you share that unbelievable

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or outrageous news item,

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do a web search to find any additional

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information or context you might have missed

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and what others are saying about it.

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Today, we are more free than ever

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from the old media gatekeepers

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who used to control the flow of information.

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But with freedom comes responsibility:

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the responsibility to curate our own experience

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and ensure that this flow does not become a flood,

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leaving us less informed than before we took the plunge.