SIFT - Evaluating Online Content

Celebrity death hoaxes are a simple example of when you would find better coverage. They happen from time to time and it is very easy to check if something is a death hoax or not. You might see this article someone shared on social media of Keanu Reeve’s death.

If Keanu Reeves was in fact dead, a simple search of “Keanu Reeves dead” would probably yield a lot of news coverage when you hit enter. But that isn’t the case. As of when this was written, he is still alive and well.

Question for Reflection: Why do you think so many otherwise smart people make errors when it comes to death hoaxes? What are the emotional drivers? What are the social incentives that push people not to check?

Click restraint: a term introduced by Sam Wineburg and Sarah McGrew to describe a behavior fact-checkers exhibit that less skilled people do not. Fact-checkers scan multiple results to try and find the particular result that combines trustworthiness with relevance before they click, often visiting the second page of search results. The Stanford History Education Group shows you more about click restraint. (2:20)

Sometimes (many times!) claims or stories will come to you in the form of images. If you want to find trusted coverage of the issue, claim, or photo, you have a couple options:

• You can search on some relevant text from the image, if, for example it is a meme or a supposed photograph of a sign
• You can use reverse image search. We show you how to do this in Google Chrome below, but other browsers have similar methods.

Checkout the video on how to do a reverse image search.(3:07) 

Keep a notebook of fact-checking exercises in a text editor or a word processor like Notepad, Google Docs, or Microsoft Word. 

The format of the notebook is simple. For each fact-checking prompt you are given a heading. After that, you need to complete the following steps:

• Write the heading in the document in all capital letters
• Hit enter and answer the questions on the prompt page
• Formatting is up to the instructor but should be encouraged to be kept simple

Please go through the examples below and answer and log your answers on a Word or Google Doc.

SIFT Prompt: UN Dance Protesting Nikki Haley 

SIFT Discussion: UN Dance Protesting Nikki Haley

SIFT Prompt: ATM Rats

SIFT Discussion: ATM Rats

SIFT Prompt: John Lennon's Murderer?

SIFT Discussion: John Lennon's Murderer?

Note: This SIFT method guide was adapted from Michael Caulfield's "Check, Please!" course. The canonical version of this course exists at http://lessons.checkplease.cc. The text and media of this site, where possible, is released into the CC-BY, and free for reuse and revision. We ask people copying this course to leave this note intact, so that students and teachers can find their way back to the original (periodically updated) version if necessary. We also ask librarians and reporters to consider linking to the canonical version.

As the authors of the original version have not reviewed any other copy's modifications, the text of any site not arrived at through the above link should not be sourced to the original authors.

Also, would like to acknowledge Wayne State University Library System.