In the wake of breaking-news events, social media goes haywire with first-to-respond reports and anecdotes. Online, anybody can call themselves a journalist. With a deluge of information, how do you know what you’re reading on the Internet is, well, real? These resources can help separate fact from fiction.

Storyful’s Open Newsroom: Storyful’s global team of editors and journalists thoroughly verify social media updates in real time. Members are required to have an impeccable reporting track record, and every bit of news on the site is rights-cleared. The company’s recently launched Open Newsroom is a Google+ page where members can help vet information on breaking news.

Tin Eye: Like Google’s reverse image lookup service, Tin Eye can verify whether a photo taken from the scene has been previously posted or manipulated. Taking things a step further, the site also tells you where and how that image appears all over the web—even if it’s been modified. Just upload the picture or plug in its URL address to find out if it’s fake.

Checkdesk: Checkdesk is a live-blogging platform for staff and citizen journalists with built-in tools to fact-check breaking news in real-time. This technology makes it easy for newsrooms to embed verified social media content into their reporting, and lets journalists attach a status to their pieces, like “Verified,” “False,” or “In progress.” The beauty of this forum is its transparency.

For more online fact-checking services, check out the free Verification Handbook, funded by the European Journalism Centre.

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