Learn to recognize misinformation using the SIFT assessment method developed by digital literacy expert Michael Caulfield, research scientist and instructor at the University of Washington:
- STOP and check for previous work: Look around to see if someone else has already fact-checked the claim or provided a synthesis of research conducted.
- INVESTIGATE by going upstream to the source: Go “upstream” to the source of the claim. Since most web content is not original, you should backtrack to the original source of the assertion to understand the trustworthiness of the information.
- FIND better coverage by reading laterally: Once you get to the source of a claim (book, article, photo, etc.), read what trusted sources say about it. Look for consensus amongst these sources.
- TRACE the claim. Circle back to the original source and assess its context.
Click here for a tutorial on using the SIFT method - and you can also view a quick video on lateral reading, a key component of the SIFT method:
