The Sift: FBI raids journalist’s home

January 26, 2026

Artificial intelligence Journalism Misinformation Press freedoms/First Amendment

An educator's guide
to news literacy

Jan. 26, 2026

In this issue

FBI raids journalist’s home | RumorGuard slides

Daily Do Now slides

Don’t miss this week’s classroom-ready resource.

Top picks

Here are the latest news literacy topics and tips on how to integrate them into your classroom.

An illustration of a laptop computer screen that says “Sources” and displays a lock icon.

A reporter’s laptops and other materials were seized in a recent FBI raid.

1. FBI raids journalist’s home, seizes devices

In a rare move, the FBI raided a journalist’s home and seized her digital devices. Press freedom advocates say the government’s action threatens journalists’ ability to hold those in power accountable.

The raid: FBI agents executed a search warrant on Jan. 14 to raid the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who covers the federal government. They seized her phone, two laptops, a hard drive, a recording device and a Garmin watch. The warrant was part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of leaking classified documents.
Why this is rare: Journalists are ordinarily protected against such raids by the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, which prohibits the government from seizing journalists’ work materials relating to criminal investigations.
Judge blocks access: In a court filing, The Post demanded Natanson’s materials be returned. On Jan. 21, a federal judge ruled that the FBI may not examine any of Natanson’s devices until the case is reviewed.
Press freedom threatened: A coalition of press freedom groups has demanded an explanation from the FBI and condemned the raid in a statement: “Dogged reporting about the government is not a crime and is not a valid reason for raiding a reporter’s home.”

💡 Idea: Have students read this New York Times article about the 1971 police raid of The Stanford Daily student newspaper and the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case, Zurcher v. Stanford Daily. Discuss how these two events led to the Privacy Protection Act of 1980. How does the 1971 police raid compare to the FBI raid this month? How do threats against freedom of the press affect democracy and ordinary citizens?

💡 Idea: Use the “Free Press” slide in Week 14 of the Daily Do Now resource to have students further reflect on this topic.

⭐ NLP Resources:

“Press Freedoms Around the World” (Checkology® virtual classroom)
“Daily Do Now: Press Freedom Collection”
Video: “News Goggles: Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times”
- Viewing guide: “Dig Deeper: How do journalists develop and use sources in news reports?”

🔗 Related:

Video: “FBI searches reporter’s home, raising concerns about intimidation of free press” (PBS NewsHour)

2. AI slop dupes sports fans

From fake game updates to political quotes falsely attributed to athletes, generative AI technology is supercharging sports misinformation.

AI slop spreading rumors: Former Minnesota Vikings receiver Adam Thielen has no plans to become a Pittsburgh police officer, but an AI-generated Facebook post of him falsely claims otherwise. Retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce never criticized singer Bad Bunny for being “a bad fit” for the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, but some people believe he did because of fake posts online.
Real harm: Fake sports content is risky for fans too. Posts like these aim to exploit political divisions and sometimes include links that pose a fraud risk.
Pretending to be news: Fake fan accounts on Facebook that post AI-generated content about sports teams appear to be an attempt to garner ad revenue. Some even link to websites posing as news sites, like “ESPNS.”

💬 Discuss:

How might fabricated sports posts contribute to polarization?
Why would bad actors target sports fans with AI slop and rage bait?
What steps can you take to evaluate whether a social media post contains credible information?

⭐ NLP Resources:

Lesson plan: “AI or not”
Infographic: “6 things to know about AI”
“Is it legit? Evaluating news sources” (Checkology)

🔗 Related:

“Science Is Drowning in AI Slop” (The Atlantic)
“Scarlett Johansson, REM, and other artists call for an end to AI slop and theft” (Mashable)

3. Independence at risk for student papers?

As student newsrooms rely more on university funds to stay afloat, student journalists are grappling with concerns over how these funding arrangements might impact their editorial independence.

Financial struggles: Decades ago, advertising revenue was the primary source of funding for many college papers, but this has declined as audiences turned to social media.
Depending on school funds: To make up for lost ad revenue, student newspapers are depending more on their educational institutions. More than 56% of student news outlets received funding from their university as of 2023, a study found.
Editorial independence: Independence is a core standard of quality journalism, including at student news outlets. It means that newsrooms make decisions about what stories to cover on their own, not because an advertiser, the government or, in this case, their university, tells them what to do.
Changing climate: Some worry that relying on school funding will embolden universities to interfere in coverage decisions. Recent controversies at the Indiana Daily Student and the student-run magazines at the University of Alabama point to a changing climate.

💬 Discuss:

Can student news outlets be independent if they rely on school funds?
How might news coverage change if a school, government or funder controlled what journalists could publish? What stories might be ignored or covered differently?
If you were in charge of a student newspaper relying on school funds, how would you ensure your newsroom maintained editorial independence?

💡 Idea: Use the “Quality journalism” slide in Week 14 of the Daily Do Now resource to further explore what it means for newsrooms to act independently.

⭐ NLP Resources:

🔗 Related:

“How student newsrooms are filling America’s local news gaps” (Editor & Publisher)
Opinion: “When universities silence student journalists, democracy suffers” (Quill)

These classroom-ready slide decks provide a comprehensive walk-through on how to debunk false rumors.

German troops didn’t leave Greenland over Trump tariff threat

A post reads, “The German soldiers leave Greenland immediately after Trump threatens with tariffs” and features a video that appears to show German soldiers boarding a plane. The News Literacy Project has added a label that says, “MISSING CONTEXT.”

✅ YES: U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media on Jan. 17 that he would implement additional tariffs on European countries that opposed his plan to take control of Greenland.

✅ YES: A post widely shared on social media shortly after the announcement purported to show a video of German soldiers withdrawing from Greenland.

✅ YES: The German government said in a statement three days before the tariff announcement that it would conduct a brief reconnaissance mission in Greenland in mid-January.

❌ NO: The soldiers did not depart Greenland early due to the tariff threats.

⭐ NewsLit takeaway:

A common tactic to spread misinformation involves taking a genuine video or photograph and presenting it online in a false context. While the above-displayed video truly shows German troops departing Greenland after a tariff threat issued by Trump, it is missing important context: The troops left the country after completing a brief reconnaissance mission.

Check out these Google Slides for tips on getting the full context while scrolling on social media.

Viral video of sledding on record-breaking Russian snow hill is AI-generated

A post reads, “Russia witnesses an extraordinary snowfall rising up to four-floor height, turning streets into winter playgrounds. Tourists gather to play, climb, and experience a once-in-a-lifetime snow spectacle” and includes a video that appears to show people sledding down a building-sized snowbank. The News Literacy Project has added a label that says “AI-GENERATED VIDEO.”

❌ NO: This is not an authentic video of people sledding down a massive snowbank in Russia in January.

✅ YES: This video is AI-generated.

✅ YES: Up to 6½ feet of snow fell on parts of Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula in January.

⭐ NewsLit takeaway:

When newsworthy weather events like hurricanes, floods or snowstorms occur, social media feeds quickly fill up with videos and images that appear to show unusual scenes. While some of this content is genuine, AI-generated or otherwise misleading clips are often sprinkled into the mix. Check out these Google Slides for tips to separate the facts from the fictions.

➕ The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 was captured in multiple verified videos, but fabricated and misleading content about the killing still spread widely on social media. Local reporting by The Minnesota Star Tribune, a newsroom with 200 journalists, worked to counter misinformation by verifying facts and delivering important context. “We’re not trying to recreate social media,” said editor Kathleen Hennessey in this Semafor interview.

📌Note: For classroom discussion prompts and resources related to this topic, check out the Jan. 12 issue of The Sift, which focused on news coverage of the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

➕ There were 330 journalists jailed globally in 2025, and the countries that jailed the most journalists were China (50), Myanmar (30) and Israel (29), according to a Committee to Protect Journalists report.

➕ Hundreds of text messages. 13,000 pages of medical records. Access to a private Instagram page. This is what a ProPublica journalist received from a mom in mourning over nine months of reporting for an investigative piece on her daughter’s death.

➕ Struggling to recognize AI-generated videos? You’re not alone — NewsGuard found that, most of the time, leading AI chatbots can’t detect fakes either.

➕ People who frequently use chatbots as a source of news in the U.S. and India say they trust them — despite these tools’ persistent inaccuracies, a new study found.

➕ One tip to lower your stress: Try reading slowly instead of passively scrolling. Experts say “deep reading” is also a good way to engage critical thinking skills and combat misinformation.

➕ Is 2026 the new 2016? You may have noticed 2016 throwback photos trending on social media as people are feeling nostalgic for a pre-pandemic era of pop culture and internet trends. (NLP included!😉)