When assessing other (perhaps non-academic) sources, traditional methods, known as vertical reading, involve looking closely at the content itself. This includes checking the "About Us" section, identifying the author’s credentials and potential biases, and reviewing the sources cited.
However, lateral reading is another great alternative for fact-checking online content like news articles and websites. Instead of staying within the original source, lateral reading means opening new tabs to investigate the source, the author, and the claims being made. This approach helps you quickly determine credibility by seeing what other trusted sources say about it.
Look at what others are telling you about the news source/author and not what they're saying about themselves. Tip: Search the source and author's name to see what types of sites are referencing them or what they're saying about them.
Trace back to the original reporting source of the data or information. Once you've figured out the original source, you can then proceed with verifying its credibility.
Check out fact-checking sites to see if these sites have checked the news story. Fact-checking sites can save you time since they have already done the verification work. Consider traditional news sources, such as newspapers. If you're unsure about a news story found in a source you're not familiar with, you can search online to see if the story has been covered by major news sources.
Before clicking on a search result, examine the URL and information snippets about the source.
This section was adapted from Fact Checking: Read Laterally from The Learning Portal/College Libraries Ontario under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
It's not just text-based media that needs evaluation. Images and videos can be compelling, but they’re not always reliable. With the rise of digital editing tools and AI-generated content, it's easier than ever to manipulate visuals to mislead, provoke emotion, or spread misinformation.
Why are visuals faked? Some reasons include:
To influence opinion: Altered images or videos can be used to push political agendas, reinforce stereotypes, or stir up controversy.
To go viral: Sensational or shocking visuals often get shared quickly, even if they’re false.
To scam or deceive: Fake product photos, deepfake videos, or misleading thumbnails can trick people into clicking, buying, or believing something untrue.
To misrepresent context: Sometimes real images are used in misleading ways like showing a photo from one event and claiming it’s from another.
There are non-partisan fact checking organizations that verify information. These are great places to see if that story or image is real or not.
Most fact checking organizations focus on political issues. Snopes is a great place for verifying other types of fake news content.
