Fake or Real? Misinformation & How to Evaluate it
From Dictionary.com https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200512_misInformation_1000x700-790x310.png
When we search for information on the web and get zillions of results, it's very hard to know which might be truthful and which might be altered information. We are confronted daily by misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information. Below is a chart showing the different characteristics of the three types of dubious information.
Diagram based on Wardle and Hossein's 2017 Information Disorder report & definitions from Dr. Nicole A. Cooke 2021 LOEX keynote address.
S.I.F.T. information before you use it!
SIFT is a helpful acronym for a method developed by Mike Caulfield for initially (and quickly) evaluating online source credibility. S.I.F.T. stands for: Stop; Investigate; Find; and Trace. When you find a source on the web, before you use it (in an assignment, or forward it) be sure to:
1. Stop! Check the Source
- Do you recognize the source as a trustworthy one?
- Yes? Continue reading and use the source
- Not sure? Proceed to Step 2.
2. Investigate the Source
- Look up the name of the source by Googling it, or with a tool like the INTERACTIVE MEDIA BIAS CHART if it is a news source. Type in the title of a news source in the search box to the left of the chart on that webpage to see where it stands on a political bias from extreme left to extreme right, and on a factual reporting bias from original fact reporting to inaccurate/fabricated information.
- Investigate whether the author is legitimate? An expert in the field of the article's content?
- Google the author's name (and affiliation if provided) to make sure. (Remember the author of the zerohedge.com article in the game was a character from the movie, "Fight Club?")
- Even if the author is legitimate, take note of possible biases they might hold being from a particular demographic, background, etc.
- Explore the formatting, writing and mechanics of the article.
- Are there typos? (like in the beforeitsnews.com article misspelling "alarming" as "alarmimg" in the game?)
- Are there run-on sentences? (like the 156 word sentence in the zerohedge.com article?)
- Are there a lot of flamboyant (exaggerated) adjectives? Most trustworthy articles don't contain these.
3. Find Trusted Coverage
Sometimes it is less important to know about the source and more important to assess their claim/what they are saying. This is where "lateral reading" comes in.
- LATERAL READING - Look for multiple known credible sources and compare information across them to see whether there is agreement about the claim being made. *For example, when reading about a recent event in the news, compare what other known news outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, or National Public Radio are reporting about that same event.
4. Trace Claims, Quotes and Media back to their original context
- Does the source include quotes from identified sources?
- Yes?
- Google the quotes to see if they came from legitimate experts in the field the article is about. (Remember the article quoting the expert from Stanford University who is actually a military history professor, not a biologist or epidemiologist!)
- Google the quote to make sure it matches what a legitimate "expert" has said or is likely to say from their experience and previous quotes.
- No? Many fake articles do not quote specific experts, but rather mention vague government organizations or "independent" groups.
- Does it mention a study?
- Yes?
- Look up the study and check if the conclusions drawn by the researchers match those in the source you are evaluating
- No?
- Check any claims or "facts" about events mentioned in the source with other independent sources to see if they "match up"
- Is there a video clip?
- Be sure to find the original video in its entirety to make sure the clip isn't taken out of context.
- Google the content of the clip while limiting to videos in Google Advanced Search (see Google Power Searcher video below). See if there is a longer version of the video available that gives a more complete context.
- Another strategy is to search directly in YouTube using keywords from the video. OR, if the video is from YouTube, RIGHT CLICK the video and click on Account in the menu. Then go to that account and learn more about who posted the video and whether they represent a credible source.
Play the game: Factitious! (10 minutes)
Click on this link: "Factitious" to see how skilled you are at recognizing dubious information, while learning techniques to evaluate news sources on the web. Keep track of strategies you learn as you play. Then use them to determine if the sources you find on the Web for your FYS research are credible.