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How To Stay Informed About What's Going On RN
As someone who often prefers to avoid depressing news online, I made myself a promise when Trump was elected in: I was going to stay on his behind like nobody's business. I quickly realized how hard it is to find useful ways to stay informed about everything that's happening during Trump's presidency due to the myriad of websites sharing a huge number of versions of the same story. How's a gal supposed to keep up with political news when she doesn't know where to turn to as a reliable source?
It takes a lot of sifting and digging through the nonstop deluge of articles and clickbait-y headlines; and to be fair, most news sites are slanted in some way, because articles are written by human beings, and human beings are flawed creatures. Opinionated pieces are great; but where can you go to stay informed, educated, and aware of what's happening around you?
You're already getting a healthy dose of political news through your social media accounts, whether you know it or not. Ever notice that Facebook never fails to serve up all of the exact kinds of articles you're wanting to read? That's no accident. It's tailored to you.
In fact, recently they started making greater strides in making FB a source of accurate, unbiased news by replacing personalized, interest-based list of trending topics.
You've probably found a few ways to stay on top of political happenings; but there's always room for more. Check out these other ways to stay informed about Trump's actions.
1The WTF Just Happened Today? Email Newsletter
This humorously titled newsletter sends a recap of the big things that happened straight to your email inbox at the end of each day when you subscribe. They also post the updates right on the website. For example, yesterday (Feb. 7), WTF Just Happened Today? noted that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would hear the challenge to Trump's travel ban.
Short, sweet, and to the point, WTF Just Happened Today? will keep you caught up without overwhelming you with too many details — although they do provide links to extra information, if you're in the mood for that.
2The Presidential Actions App
Presidential Actions — an app built by University of California Berkeley students Ash Bhat and Rohan Pai — was a response to Trump's reaction regarding their protest against Milo Yiannopoulos. Trump slammed the protesters, suggesting that maybe the school's federal funding should be cut. It took less than 24 hours for Bhat and Pai to fire back: with an app that checks the White House website every 10 minutes and sends users updates regarding any new memos, releases, and executive orders. It is perhaps one of the quickest forms of communication: From the White House to you.
3Follow The Right People On Social Media
In other words, not Donald Trump.
OK, follow him if you want. (Or don't, because to unfollow him is to take away one of his biggest megaphones!) But right after that, check out Soledad O'Brien's Twitter page. Sure, she's sharing opinions. She also shares many riveting facts and eye-opening articles. News and Guts (created by journalism icon Dan Rather) also shares a great deal of insightful, thought-provoking political thoughts.
P.S. I'm a staunch advocate of the never-read-the-comments-section policy, but... read the comments. Not all of them. But some of them. Some of them are startlingly good.
4FactCheck.org
This nonpartisan, non-profit site "aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics." They check science-based claims, provide transcripts of Trump's remarks, and squash viral rumors. While many websites are in the business to lure you in with sensational news, FactCheck often debunks it.
5PolitiFact
PolitiFact is home of the Truth Squad and the Trump-O-Meter — which is keeping track of the promises Trump made throughout the 2016 campaign and whether or not he's sticking to his word. And then there's the Truth-O-Meter, which rates the words of politicians on a scale of "true" to "pants on fire." This Pulitzer Prize-winning, fact-checking website definitely deserves to be bookmarked on your internet browser.
6theSkimm
Similar to WTF Just Happened Today?, theSkimm makes it easy to stay on top of politics by offering a more digestible, "skimmable" version of current events. According to a recent blog post, they're non-partisan, and their "foundation rests on objectivity and journalistic integrity. Our distinctive voice calls BS on the world. That means everyone is fair game."
As an added bonus, they cover a variety of topics, too, so you're not limited to politics.
7NPR
NPR is one of the most trusted news outlets in America, and they pride themselves on "never [settling] for obvious answers and predictable stereotypes." They've won several awards over the last few decades thanks to their investigative reporting and bodies of coverage.
