Opinion | The Supreme Court seems likely to rule against TikTok
If it does, TikTok must divest from its Chinese owner by Jan. 19 or, essentially, be banned in the US
January 13, 2025
News
The Los Angeles fires have fueled falsehoods about water management, including from Trump
Hydrants ran dry because the city’s infrastructure was not built to respond to fires so large. A change in water management would not have helped.
January 13, 2025
Opinion | TikTok gets its day in court — the Supreme Court
On Friday, the court takes up a case that will decide the future of TikTok in the US. Trump has made an unusual attempt to influence the case.
January 10, 2025
Opinion | A fired Gannett editor has started her own digital news site
Sarah Leach, who was fired for talking to a Poynter columnist, launched the nonprofit Ottawa News Network with backing from local sponsors
January 10, 2025
An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg from the world’s fact-checkers, nine years later
As Meta announces end to U.S. fact-checking, program partners warn of a setback for accuracy online and potential global consequences
January 9, 2025
Opinion | Two newsrooms stand out in their coverage of the nightmarish Los Angeles wildfires
The Los Angeles Times and CNN are providing especially notable coverage of ‘the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory’
January 9, 2025
Opinion | How journalism needs to adapt to the rise of news influencers
Journalists should explore ways to mimic influencers’ strategies to engage audiences — and bring their foundational skills with them
January 9, 2025
Business & Work
Why more and more journalists are launching worker-owned outlets
Fed up with the media industry’s instability, workers are starting newsrooms where they can govern themselves and reach readers directly
January 8, 2025
Here’s what Poynter looked like 50 years ago
Orange walls. TVs with bunny ears. Light tables. And so much carpet …
January 2, 2025
A journalist reckons with the press’ treatment of baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente
‘Call Me Roberto!,’ a nonfiction picture book, tells the story of the athlete’s struggle to get the media to respect him
December 31, 2024
Opinion | Editor’s choice: 15 of the best Poynter articles from 2024
A retrospective of a cult classic journalism movie. An editor who was fired for talking to us. A tipster’s massive find. What a year it was.
December 30, 2024
Commentary
Opinion | With Trump on his way back to the White House, Meta drops its fact-checking program
Mark Zuckerberg can preach all he wants about censorship and free speech, but it’s easy to see through his words. This was done to appease Trump.
January 8, 2025
Opinion | Meta will attempt crowdsourced fact-checking. Here’s why it won’t work
X’s Community Notes is not the success that tech leaders want you to believe. And a similar system won’t stop misinformation on Facebook.
January 7, 2025
Opinion | Jan. 6 and a tale of two elections
In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, President Joe Biden reflected on the violence of that day and asked Americans to remember it
January 7, 2025
Opinion | The new year looks the same as last year at The Washington Post
The Post again faces uncomfortable controversy, this time with a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist quitting in protest
January 6, 2025
Educators & Students
Poynter’s MediaWise and YouTube partner to launch teen-focused media literacy curriculum
The project empowers educators with tools to teach students media literacy skills at a time when teen well-being is a global conversation
October 21, 2024
How newsrooms track the diversity of their sources can lead to tradeoffs in time spent, information collected
A new research study offers a roadmap for newsrooms that may want to analyze which voices routinely get quoted and ignored
August 29, 2024
University of Florida student journalists lead on breaking big stories about former President Ben Sasse
Independent Florida Alligator's stories drew national attention to former senator's high-dollar consulting and remote personnel spending
August 28, 2024
WATCH: What they don’t teach in J-school
Poynter convened a panel discussion with industry experts on the skills reporters learn on the job
April 2, 2024
Ethics & Trust
Does crowdsourced fact-checking work? Experts are skeptical of Meta’s plan
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta will adopt a Community Notes model similar to X, where fact-checkers say misinformation often goes unchecked
January 7, 2025
‘No comment’: When it’s time to make that the story
What an independent journalist and a student newspaper can teach journalists about sources who block them
January 3, 2025
How two nonprofits are demystifying journalism with a postcard
What does it mean to be ‘on the record?’ Where will my words end up? Is it safe? The handout answers common questions in multiple languages.
December 11, 2024
There’s a line between documenting the glorification of a shooter and perpetuating it
In the case of the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, intense competition to get the story could distort the facts
December 10, 2024
Fact-Checking
Meta is ending its third-party fact-checking partnership with US partners. Here’s how that program works.
Meta will end its eight-year partnership with independent American journalists and will instate a Community Notes model like X
January 7, 2025
No, cancer isn’t a parasite, and ivermectin can’t cure it
Cancer grows from mutations in a person’s cells. Parasites are separate organisms that live on or in another host organism.
January 7, 2025
How a Fox News report fueled false claims about the New Orleans suspect. He was a US citizen.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the 42-year-old suspected driver in the New Year’s truck attack in New Orleans, was a US citizen and US Army veteran
January 6, 2025
‘Not the AI election’: Why artificial intelligence did not define the 2024 campaign
Experts warned about AI’s potential to influence election results. But the anticipated avalanche of AI-driven misinformation never materialized.
December 30, 2024
From the Institute
Poynter names Selection Board for Poynter Journalism Prizes
14 distinguished journalists to choose winners of the journalism contest
December 11, 2024
Poynter and Google News Initiative expand fact-checking efforts in Canada
New and expanded programming from Poynter’s fact-checking and media literacy initiatives will help combat misinformation
November 21, 2024
Invest in your growth in 2025 by learning to lead with influence
This hallmark Poynter program teaches leaders without direct reports to harness their strengths.
November 14, 2024
Meet the 38 journalists chosen for Poynter’s 2024 Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom leaders
The participants will gain critical skills that new managers need to help forge successful paths to leadership
November 14, 2024
ICYMI
South Korea’s fact-checking future is uncertain as a key donor retreats
The withdrawal of funding from ‘the Google of South Korea’ has left SNU FactCheck scrambling to find a new sponsor. A shutdown looms.
November 14, 2023
Mongolia moves to seize power to shut down internet, control social media
In an expedited process, 77% of parliament members voted in favor of legislation that sharply limits government criticism.
January 27, 2023
IFCN
IFCN launches new Business Continuity Fund for fact-checkers facing challenges
The fund will help cover the costs fact-checkers face after violent conflicts, natural disasters or government repression
December 19, 2024
Q&A: Indian fact-checkers lead with innovation and diversity, says IFCN director after Delhi visit
The IFCN director shares takeaways from her India visit, including fact-checkers’ innovations, regional challenges and global lessons
December 17, 2024
Opinion | The next chapter for fact-checking: information integrity
Fact-checking needs to evolve to meet new challenges
December 5, 2024
Africa’s fact-checking community shows its growing strength in collaboration, investigations
The Africa Facts fact-checking conference drew 200 participants from around the continent
December 5, 2024
Locally
‘Meet people, spot talent, give them the chance’
How nonprofit startup the Mississippi Free Press built an inclusive newsroom to connect with a statewide audience
December 2, 2024
American audiences do not notice a nonprofit news difference, study finds
Nonprofit news organizations must find a way to make it clear to their communities that there is a nonprofit news difference
October 8, 2024
A photojournalist reported on dozens of hurricanes over the years. Then Hurricane Helene flooded his home.
Douglas R. Clifford was in Tallahassee, preparing to cover Helene for the Tampa Bay Times, when the storm came knocking at his door.
October 2, 2024
After Hurricane Helene, ‘Neighbors are what’s getting us through this’
Coverage and help from Florida and North Carolina
October 2, 2024
News Releases
Poynter and ACES announce release of Advanced Certificate in Editing
This is the third in a three-part series of cutting-edge editing certifications
January 7, 2025
2025 Poynter Journalism Prizes now open for entries until Feb. 14
The contest, which honors distinguished reporting and writing, accepts entries from US-based news outlets
January 6, 2025
First 50 public media stations selected for second phase of Digital Transformation Program
CPB-funded Poynter Institute training to foster innovation across the public media system
October 29, 2024
IFCN awards GROW 2024 grants to 20 projects from $12M global fund
The grants are funded by Google and YouTube to support fact-checking initiatives worldwide and reduce the harm of misinformation
October 21, 2024
Newsletters
Opinion | A Poynter Report special: the 2024 year in media
A divisive election, turbulence at one of the nation’s legendary newspapers, controversial stoppages of presidential endorsements and so much more
December 20, 2024
Opinion | A story that won’t go away: ABC News’ decision to settle with Donald Trump
Media news tends to phase out fast, but the baffling settlement decision by ABC News continues to linger — inside and outside of the network
December 19, 2024
Opinion | Behind the scenes of PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year with PolitiFact editor-in-chief Katie Sanders
Local authorities denied claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio ate pets, but Trump and Vance pushed the falsehood, causing real-world consequences
December 18, 2024
Opinion | CNN investigates its own story and sets the record straight
The network aired a dramatic interview of a man being freed from a Syrian prison. It appears that CNN and war correspondent Clarissa Ward were duped.
December 17, 2024
PBS Curriculum
Trick or truth: Are drug dealers really targeting kids on Halloween?
For teachers: This MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network video has an accompanying lesson plan free for any…
October 28, 2022
Reporting & Editing
Here are all the journalism terms you need to know, defined
A robust guide to the language of journalism, from A1 to -30-
January 7, 2025
When should journalists use the word ‘terrorism?’
The FBI is calling the attack in New Orleans that killed at least 10 an 'act of terrorism.' Here are some considerations for journalists.
January 1, 2025
A reminder of how good writing happens
Call in the metaphor squad and other writing tips from Poynter's Beat Academy
December 27, 2024
‘Back to the future:’ Seven trends for local television news in 2025
Journalists and newsrooms expect it to be a transformative year
December 26, 2024
Tech & Tools
Bargaining code battle shifts to European copyright law, taxes also under consideration
Google and Meta’s tactics: tiny carrots and the threat of large sticks
December 23, 2024
Opinion | Can AI run with the bulls (and a pack of screaming toddlers)?
Google’s generative AI audio tool can produce an impressive facsimile of a podcast. But a tool needs a hand to hold it.
December 9, 2024
Opinion | X’s Community Notes had a marginal, if any, impact on the election
Our analysis of the 3,637 notes from Election Day shows that users found the platform’s lonely moderation instrument to be mostly unhelpful
November 14, 2024
The New York Times is wheeling out its Needle election predictor — probably
The Times plans to roll out the widely ridiculed and misunderstood predictive tool, but only if it can overcome glitches without a striking tech guild
November 5, 2024
TFCN
Watch out for claims about ‘crisis actors’ in Gaza
This photo posted on Facebook in early November got a lot of attention. It shows…
February 5, 2024
Would young people really choose TikTok over their right to vote?
GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a political outsider who has taken many by surprise with…
November 7, 2023
Is This Legit: A media literacy skills recap
Have you ever encountered something suspicious online and wondered: “Is this legit?” Welcome to our…
May 11, 2023
Echo chambers: how they’re created and how to avoid them
Recently, I tried a little experiment on social media. I set up two fake Twitter…
May 5, 2023