Poster: “Characteristics of Credibility”
This poster uses the mnemonic “Vampires Always Investigate Their Friends’ Appetites” to introduce students to core characteristics of credibility that can be used to evaluate news and other information.
People often talk about credibility as an all-or-nothing judgment, but it’s more like a sliding scale. Information is more or less credible depending on the presence or absence of these key characteristics:
- Verification: The process of confirming whether something is true.
- Accuracy: A clear commitment to getting the facts right.
- Independence: Serving the public interest above all else.
- Transparency: Being clear about how information was gathered and verified.
- Fairness: Striving to be as complete, accurate and impartial as possible.
- Accountability: Taking responsibility and correcting errors or other problems promptly.
Whether evaluating a social media post, a news story, an unfamiliar website, content from influencers or another information type and source, these same characteristics apply. They can be used whether it’s legitimate news or not – even to detect low-quality information.
This poster can be used to introduce these concepts or serve as a reminder of what to look for when evaluating information. Print it out and hang it on the wall, distribute the poster directly to students, or do both to guide students.
Teaching students to look for characteristics of credibility allows them to make better trust decisions in today’s crowded information environment.
Educators: Looking to go deeper? Check out our professional learning session, “Characteristics of credibility,” to learn more about journalism standards and ethics and how to incorporate these characteristics into existing lessons and curricula.
