How to Evaluate Sources

Questions to ask yourself

Purpose:

What is the purpose of this information?

Who created this information?

Why was this information created?

Authority:

Who is the author?

What are his or her credentials?

Is his/her contact information provided?

Is there an organizational or corporate sponsor?

Is this web page authentic or a hoax?

Is a reference list provided?

Objectivity:

Is this objective information (fact)?

Does this information reflect bias? How?

Could this information be intended as parody or satire?

Relevance/Appropriateness

Is this content appropriate for me or my assignment?

Is the reading level appropriate for me?

Is the content accurate, complete and well-written?

Is the content relevant to my topic or question?

Currency:

Is a date provided?

Is this recent information?

Are the links on this page still active?

What is fake news ?

Fake news stories promote false information and cannot be verified. They seek to invoke an emotional response (sadness, anger, happiness) in order to influence people. They do this by using language and techniques of persuasion. Fake news also includes heavily biased information, with little credibility or objectivity.

What is confirmation bias?

Confirmation bias is "the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs. This biased approach to decision making is largely unintentional and often results in ignoring inconsistent information. Existing beliefs can include one’s expectations in a given situation and predictions about a particular outcome. People are especially likely to process information to support their own beliefs when the issue is highly important or self-relevant."

Casad, B. (2016). Confirmation bias. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/institutionalized-bias

Disinformation VS Misinformation

Misinformation is ''false or misleading information" and disinformation is "false information that is purposely spread to deceive people."

David M. J. Lazer, et al., "The Science of Fake News," Science 09 Mar 2018: Vol. 359, Issue 6380, pp. 1094-1096

IFLA. (2019). How to spot fake news. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174