Evaluating Sources

When evaluating web sources, "lateral reading" ("lateral" meaning "side-to-side") refers to the practice of seeing what other sources have to say about the source in question, rather than seeing what it says about itself, or "vertical reading" (e.g. by reading the "About" page of a website). Often a simple Google search is enough to establish whether a site or organization has a reputation for sharing unreliable or heavily biased information. 

Read more about lateral reading here: https://webliteracy.pressbooks.com/chapter/what-reading-laterally-means

Note: lateral reading can be applied to scholarly sources as well! Remember that "peer-reviewed" does not always mean "reliable information." It usually does, but sometimes peer-reviewed articles are later retracted for inaccuracies. 

Lateral reading activity: https://webliteracy.pressbooks.com/chapter/activity-evaluate-a-site/

Stop

• When you first come across a page – STOP. Do you know if this is a trustworthy source? If you’re not sure, investigate further!

Investigate the source

• Use "lateral reading" by opening a new tab and searching the name of the source in question to see what other sources (including Wikipedia) say about it.
• Is the source known to have a history of being unreliable or sharing mis- or disinformation?
• Is the site or organization what it appears to be? (e.g. is it actually a political advocacy group when it first appears to be a research group?)
• Example: American Academy of Pediatrics vs. American College of Pediatricians 

Find better (or additional) coverage

• Don't rely just on one source - see whether there is disagreement or controversy about the claim or story.
• Have any fact-checking websites (Snopes, PolitiFact) performed a fact check on the claim/story?
• When the source you are investigating seems to be low-quality, search for a more trustworthy source.

Trace claims, quotes, and media to their original context

• As in a game of "Telephone," the more a story is told and retold, the more inaccuracies are likely to pop up.
• Find the original reporting, research, or photo.
• Does the original source say the same things as the re-reporting you read first?

Adapted from "Check, Please!" (Caulfield) at http://lessons.checkplease.cc (CC-BY)