And not to be outdone, the Republican vice president candidate in September of 2024 (knowing it wasn’t true) told us that Haitian migrants living in Springfield, Ohio were stealing and eating people’s pets. But democracy depends on citizens staying informed, speaking out, acting for the common good, and voting. Check sources: To avoid fake news, the Macdonald-Kelco Library at the University of Tampa recommends that when you’re reading a news article know who the author is. Look for bias: Does the article you’re reading lean toward a particular point of view? Be tough: If what you’re reading seems too good to be true, or too weird, or too reactionary, it probably is.