Media Literacy
An exclusive news label needs a clear claim about what is new
Read an exclusive label by identifying the new interview, document or finding, then follow the evidence and original reporting.
CONTEXT FOR EVERYDAY CURIOSITY
A clearer view of the stories around us.
Media literacy, useful explainers and thoughtful perspectives on public life, culture and the information we share.
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Reading the News
Why vote share and seat share can tell different election stories
Vote share and seat share measure different results. Learn how to read an election chart without treating votes cast and seats won as the same quantity.
Reading the Evidence
What a correlation between places cannot tell you about the people inside them
A pattern across towns does not automatically describe the people living in them. Learn to spot the jump from group data to an individual claim.
Understanding the News
A rolling average smooths a news chart by remembering earlier days
Read a seven-day rolling average without mistaking it for today’s raw count. A simple numerical example shows why one unusual day can linger.
Media Literacy
Read an editorial cartoon as an argument made with images
Learn to read an editorial cartoon’s visual argument by separating its symbols, exaggeration and evidence from the event it comments on.
Reading Evidence
Survivorship bias: look for the cases missing from a success story
A success story may omit the businesses, people or projects that did not remain visible. Ask who was counted before accepting its lesson.