This course tracks milestones in political thought and media history that affect journalistic practice, using the methods of the New Yorker’s checking department. While learning how to check and defend facts, students explore how “fake news” differs from real news; what determines which “facts” are recognized as true, and how journalists can ensure the accuracy of their writing. Each week explores a different theme: from Jefferson’s and Tocqueville’s visions of American press freedom to Orwell’s insights into fact erasure; from the influence of telegraph, radio, and television on democracy to the convulsions of the Civil Rights Era and Watergate; and from the reemergence of partisan news, the rise of the internet, the spread of the alt-right and conspiracy theories, and the threats of misinformation and information warfare. Each student follows a different publication throughout the term to give them a sense of the priorities and biases of each media outlet. Journalists, historians, podcasters and fact-checkers visit the class to share their expertise. The course aims to deepen students’ understanding of the power of fact and opinion in society while strengthening their ability to read and report the news effectively as press freedom, democratic institutions, and truth itself are under attack.