Disinformation, Misinformation, and Fake News Teach-Out

Hailey Mooney, Librarian for Psychology & Sociology at the University of Michigan, rejoins the Teach-Out to begin a discussion on ways to evaluate information. She also talks through the strategy of “lateral reading” and recommends Michael Caulfield’s SIFT method to make sense of information: Stop, Investigate the source, Find trusted coverage, and Trace. More about the SIFT method here: 7 thoughts on “Introducing SIFT, a Four Moves Acronym”.

Action Activity: Find a (short) article and read through it normally. Then re-read it with the SIFT strategy in mind: Stop, Investigate, Find, and Trace. Reflect on your experiences by answering the following questions:

• Reaction: What was your initial reaction to the article you read? Was it credible?
• Apply SIFT: After rereading and applying SIFT, what did you learn about your article?
• Future approaches: How will the SIFT method change the way you approach finding and consuming news media?