The progressive news group the Young Turks is here this week with a public service announcement about fake news, and who better to discuss the issue than disgraced former CBS News anchor Dan Rather?

Really.

“If you’re really interested in identifying fake news, and figuring out what to believe,” Rather says in a brief video published this week, “if you’re truly invested in the work of being a good, informed citizen, may I respectfully offer a short primer?”

If you must.

“Number one,” he begins, “understand that trusting a news outlet does not mean they’re perfect. No one is perfect. It means they tell you when they screw up.”

“Number two,” the newsman, who anchors a show on the Young Turks network called “ The News With Dan Rather,” adds, “don’t rely on just one news outlet. Number three: don’t rely on just the news to understand an issue. Read books. Find the experts. Find out how issues are discussed outside of news.”

In truth, these aren’t bad tips. They’re pretty broad, and you don’t need a supposed wizened media elder to tell you these tips are prudent, but they’re good nonetheless.

[Also read: Trump says only ‘fake news,’ not all media, are ‘enemy of the people’]



.@DanRather’s guide to protecting yourself against fake news. pic.twitter.com/yvypbLBaKE — The Young Turks (@TheYoungTurks) April 3, 2018

“Number four,” Rather says, “if you find yourself agreeing with everything your news outlet says, you’re doing it wrong. If your news doesn’t challenge you, challenge your news.”

Wait. What does “challenge your news” even mean? Should we write a letter to the editor?

“Number five,” Rather continues, “find a commentator whose politics differ from yours. Intellectually honest, even though their values differ from yours. If you can’t find such a person, maybe the media is not the problem. Number six: remember that what the news tells you is far less important than what they decide to talk about in the first place. If they focus on personal, salacious and speculative stories, find a new outlet, one that drills in on issues that actually affect real lives, your wallet or pocketbook, health and education, schools, social justice, the environment.”

“The true test of trustworthy journalism isn’t that they never make mistakes. It’s whether they’re willing to challenge the powers that be on behalf of those without power,” he concludes.

This is good and all, but it’s hard to ignore that these “fake news” tips come from a man who was fired from his lofty position in the press precisely because he peddled disinformation during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. True, the Killian Controversy took place 14 years ago, but the press has not quite recovered from his slipshod brand of journalism.

Honestly, I wouldn’t be so hard on the guy were it not for the fact that he is wholly unrepentant for the fraud he tried to perpetrate. Rather maintains to this day the his disastrous Bush AWOL story was mostly correct, and the fact that his chief piece of evidence was a forgery is just a small detail.

“One supporting pillar of the story, albeit an important one, one supporting pillar was brought into question. To this day no one has proven whether it was what it purported to be or not," Rather said in an interview in 2005. "I stuck by the story because I believed in it."

You know, as an unrepentant peddler of disinformation, maybe the former CBS anchor is uniquely qualified to deliver a PSA about “fake news.”