français · B1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
News and media literacy
Describe a source, verify a claim, and separate reporting from opinion.
Understand the choice
Media vocabulary should support a verification habit rather than just label formats. Check who published a claim, what evidence supports it, when it appeared, and whether another reliable outlet confirms it.
Core rule: Vérifier une source or une information; se fier à means rely on, and selon introduces an attributed source.
Notice it in context
Avant de partager l’article, je vérifie la source et la date de publication.
Before sharing the article, I check the source and publication date.
Avant de governs partager; source and date are two direct objects of vérifie.
Ce titre exagère le contenu du reportage.
This headline exaggerates the content of the report.
Titre is the headline; reportage is the reported piece.
La rumeur circule sans preuve fiable.
The rumor is circulating without reliable evidence.
Sans introduces the absent proof; fiable agrees with feminine preuve.
What to remember
- Les informations can mean the news broadcast; une information is one piece of information.
- Actualité means current events, not the English false friend actuality.
Common trap: Do not translate “fake news” as fausses nouvelles in every context; infox is official, while fake news and fausse information are widespread.