The SIFT Method: How to Investigate Fake News
Misinformation and fake news can spread "at the speed of light," experts say. And it's not getting any easier to decide what's real and what's not.
But there are things we can do to help ourselves — and one of them is called the "SIFT method."
It was created by Mike Caulfield, who researches misinformation at the University of Washington.
SIFT is a perfect acronym, because the word "sift" can mean to look carefully at something to find out what's useful and what's not.
The reason why fake news can spread so quickly is because we often don't stop and think before we share it.
"Ask yourself whether you know the website or source of the information," Caulfield writes. Do you trust it? Don't share the information until you know more!
Now it's time to find out more about the source of the information. Caulfield says a simple search of Google or Wikipedia can tell us a lot.
When you're investigating an organization, Caulfield says: "Do not look at what the organization says about itself — look at what the web is telling you about the organization."
F is for 'Find better sources'
If you're not happy with a source, look for a better one. Caulfield says you should search Google to see if trusted news sites have the same story. Science writer Amanda Ruggeri also uses Google Fact Check.
T is for 'Trace the claim'
"Trace" means to follow information to find where something is or where it came from.
If you've seen something on social media, you might need to do some searching to find out where the original claim came from. Some later sources may have changed, removed or misunderstood information that was included in the original source.
In time, you should find that checking information gets easier as you learn what to look — or "sift" — for!
