Fact-Checking with Lateral Reading Using the SIFT Method
What elements help you decide if a website is a reliable source of information?
Don't be fooled by the "slick" look of the website. Read closely and identify facts and details that you can search on the internet to find additional websites to verify. This skill is called Lateral Reading.
Stop - pause and look for details that need to be verified
Investigate - use lateral reading to find additional websites about those details
Find better coverage - look for other reliable sources of information
Trace claims - follow the clues to go back to the original source