News Consumers as Skeptical Curators

Americans increasingly see being a good news consumer as an active practice: selectively following multiple sources, applying skepticism, and doing ad‑hoc fact‑checking rather than passively accepting single outlets. A Pew open‑response survey (Dec 2025) found sizable shares name discernment (20%), staying informed (17%), source quality (13%) and fact‑checking (12%) as core skills. — If the public defines news literacy as curation and skepticism, policy and platform interventions should prioritise tools that support source‑comparison and verification rather than top‑down content policing.