Why Verify?
How do we know what sources and claims to trust? There’s lots of credible information online, but lots of pollution, too
How do we know what sources and claims to trust? There’s lots of credible information online, but lots of pollution, too
Separating true from false can be harder than we think. Test your skills using the FakeOut game. Thumbs up for true, thumbs down for false. What’s your final score?
There are many kinds of false and misleading information that circulate online. This video explores the difference between misinformation (not intended to cause harm) and disinformation (purposefully harmful) and some of the the ways that information pollution spreads
Often when we want to know if information is credible, we look at the information itself — analyzing the professionalism of a site, or counting the ads that appear. This is called ‘vertical reading’ — staying on the page and looking for clues.
A better and faster way is to leave the site or post to leave the page, open a new tab, and conduct simple research into the source or claim. This is called ‘lateral reading’ — it’s what professional fact-checkers do to efficiently reach informed conclusions.
The first CTRL-F skill is ‘investigate the source.’ Where did the informatoin come from, and what is the reputation of the source?