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This guide will help you to read laterally -
a good fact-checking skill.
This guide will help you to read laterally -
a good fact-checking skill.
Lateral means moving in a sideways direction. Lateral reading is basically searching for information about a source while you are reading it. You are checking on the Mana (Authority), Whakapapa (Background) and Orokohanga (Origins) of the information by reading what other sites say about your source.
Lateral vs Vertical Reading
Lateral vs Vertical Reading
Vertical reading is when you read all the information from one source and evaluate that without reading elsewhere. With so much misinformation around, it is important to fact check what you are reading. By sticking to one site and reading vertically you could get sucked into fake news and conspiracies, and even go on to spread them further.
Not fact-checking, and spreading misinformation is harmful and in some cases dangerous.
Not fact-checking, and spreading misinformation is harmful and in some cases dangerous.
Reading laterally means you will be a part of the solution in combating misinformation!
Reading laterally means you will be a part of the solution in combating misinformation!
How to read laterally:
How to read laterally:
When presented with information on an unfamiliar site, skim read it to find out the main facts or claims and who the author is.
Next, open a new tab, search the name of the website and look for results from trusted sites to see what they say. Try to find four or five other sources that dicuss your source. (If you can't find that many, it could be a sign that your source is not a good one).
Trusted sites to use for fact-checking include:
Wikipedia
Reputable News sites
Fact-checking websites
Best Fact Checking Websites for Students
Best Fact Checking Websites for Students
Lateral Reading in Action
Lateral Reading in Action
This short module will show you an example of lateral reading after coming across an unfamiliar site: https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
This short module will show you an example of lateral reading after coming across an unfamiliar site: https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
Wikipedia is a useful tool to help you fact check other websites.
Wikipedia is a useful tool to help you fact check other websites.
Have a go
Have a go
Choose one of these websites, or watch the video, and then find out what you can using the Lateral Reading Technique
https://buydehydratedwatercom.weebly.com/
https://savingtherennets.weebly.com/
https://zapatopi.net/cascadia/
Class discussion questions
Class discussion questions
What did you find out about the sites above?
Was it easy to find out information from trusted sources?
Which sites did you go to to fact-check the sites?
Have you come across other information before and later found out it wasn't true?
What effect do you think sharing misinformation could have? How could it be dangerous?
For your interest : Dubunking viral videos
For your interest : Dubunking viral videos
Love those viral cooking videos? Ever wondered if they are actually real?
This Youtube channel from Ann Reardon, a scientist and dietician is very good at debunking viral TikTok and YouTube videos. Especially the viral cooking videos that are so popular, but other videos, and more recently - information about vaping.
Remember - don't believe everything you see or read!
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