Evaluating News Sources

It's important to carefully evaluate the news source to determine the validity of the information. Use our checklist to determine the creditability of what you are reading.

The Sift Method

If you have taken the Evaluating Sources module, you might be familiar with the SIFT method. This method helps evaluate sources you find, helping you to effectively learn about a source before reading it.

Do not take evidence at face value.

This method has you asking questions about a source:

• What is their expertise?
• What is their agenda?
• Their record of fairness or accuracy?
• Are the claims broadly accepted?
• Is this information in the original context or is there a particular frame that might change the meaning for you?

Sift is an acronym for:

Stop

Investigate the source

Find better coverage

Trace claims, quotes, and media to its original context

STOP! The first questions to ask yourself when confronted with a source are: Do I know this website? Do I know this information source? Or do I know its reputation?

INVESTIGATE: look for the author and who is publishing the source. Learn their expertise and agenda, which will give you an idea how the information is being interpreted.

FIND: look for other coverage available on the topic. Are multiple sources reporting on it? This will also help in determining if it is a majority viewpoint.

TRACE: following the claims, quotes, and media back to original context, whether by clicking on the links to claims or looking for the sources of original reporting. The point is to know where the claim came from.

Other questions to Ask:

• Purpose:  What is the purpose of the publication?  Is it to inform or persuade? Is it biased? Does it provide more than one point of view? 
• Author:  Is the author's name listed? Are the author’s credentials, such as educational background, occupation, or affiliation or listed?
• Writing:  Are there a lot of mistakes? Are there misspellings, bad punctuation, or slang?
• Timing:  When was it written? How current is it?  Is there a publication date?
• Sources:  Are there any citations? If there are citations with links, where do the links lead? Can it be confirmed by other sources?

Tips and Tricks

• If you are clicking on a lot of links to get to the source, the cited information might be false or taken out of context
• Look at the URL. Many hoax news sites use a .com.co to fool people into thinking it is a real site
• Check out the "About Us" section to learn about the source
• Use a fact-checking site