Read sideways
Instead of studying a website to decide if you trust it, leave it and see what others say about it: the fastest check fact-checkers use.
Two ways to judge a website
Vertical reading
Stay on the page and scroll down. Judge it by its design, its logo, its "About us", its list of references.
It's what most people do, and a well-made site can fake every one of those things.
Lateral reading
Open new tabs and search for the name of the site, organisation or author. See what independent sources say about them.
You learn about a source by leaving it.
THE STANFORD STUDY
Fact-checkers beat historians and students
Researchers Sam Wineburg and Sarah McGrew (Stanford History Education Group; working paper 2017, published 2019) gave the same websites to 10 professional fact-checkers, 10 PhD historians and 25 Stanford undergraduates. The fact-checkers read laterally, reached better judgements, and got there much faster. The historians and students mostly stayed on the page, and professional-looking sites often fooled them.
The historians weren't careless. They read closely, which is exactly the skill their work rewards. On the web, close reading of a page is what a slick page is built to survive.
Check yourself
In the Stanford study of how people judge websites, which group judged them best?
- PhD historians, because they read most carefully
- Stanford undergraduates, because they grew up online
- Professional fact-checkers
- All three groups did about the same
Show the answer
Professional fact-checkers
Yes. The fact-checkers left the page to see what others said about it, and got better answers in less time.
SIFT: four moves (Mike Caulfield)
- S · Stop
Do you know this source? What do you actually want to find out? Don't read further, or share, on autopilot.
- I · Investigate the source
A quick lateral search of its name. Thirty seconds is often enough to learn who is behind it.
- F · Find better coverage
Is anyone you already trust reporting the same thing? Sometimes it's easier to find a better source than to judge this one.
- T · Trace claims to the original
Follow claims, quotes and media back to where they started, and see if the original context says the same thing.
Check yourself
What does the T in SIFT stand for?
- Trust sources that look professional
- Trace claims, quotes and media back to the original context
- Take a screenshot before it's deleted
- Tell your group what you found
Show the answer
Trace claims, quotes and media back to the original context
Right. A quote cut in half or a photo from another year only shows its real meaning when you find where it first appeared.
BEFORE YOU CLICK
Click restraint
When you search, don't click the first result. Scan the whole results page first: the snippets and site names often tell you most of what you need. Then pick a source you recognise as independent. The top result is often there because someone optimised it to be there.
Wikipedia is a fine first stop to learn who runs an organisation and who funds it. Check the references at the bottom. It's a starting point, not a final authority.
The page: "International Institute for Healthy Living"
Report: "Plant milks linked to bone loss"
Logo, "About us", 40 references.
New tab, search:
"International Institute for Healthy Living" fundingResult 2, a newspaper investigation:
The institute is funded by a large dairy company.
Time spent: about 30 seconds.The report may still contain real facts. But now you know who wants you to believe it, and you'll look for independent research before you do.
Check yourself
A link in your group leads to a health site you've never heard of. What is the lateral-reading move?
- Read its "About us" page carefully
- Check whether its design looks professional
- Search for the site's name in a new tab and see what others say about it
- Count how many references it lists
Show the answer
Search for the site's name in a new tab and see what others say about it
Yes. Leave the page and ask the rest of the web. What independent sources say about a site is worth more than what it says about itself.
Check yourself
A site's address ends in ".org" and it has a polished "About us" page describing its mission. That shows it's a trustworthy non-profit.
Show the answer
False
False. Anyone can buy a ".org" address, and anyone can write a polished mission statement. Neither proves anything on its own. A quick search of the name tells you far more.
Check yourself
Sort these moves: reading vertically or laterally?
- Reading the site's mission statement
- Searching the author's name plus "who is"
- Admiring the logo and clean layout
- Looking up the organisation on Wikipedia
- Scrolling through the site's list of references
- Checking whether a news outlet reports the same claim
Show the answer
Vertical: staying on the page: Reading the site's mission statement, Admiring the logo and clean layout, Scrolling through the site's list of references
Lateral: leaving the page: Searching the author's name plus "who is", Looking up the organisation on Wikipedia, Checking whether a news outlet reports the same claim
Common mistakes
- Trusting a ".org" address. Anyone can buy one.
- Trusting a site because it links to real studies. Check whether the studies say what the site claims.
- Spending ten minutes on the page when thirty seconds off it would answer the question.
Check yourself
A site claiming phone chargers cause headaches links to three real, published studies. What should you check next?
- Nothing: real studies mean the claim is backed
- Whether the studies actually say what the site claims they say
- Whether the links open without errors
- How many people shared the page
Show the answer
Whether the studies actually say what the site claims they say
Right. Linking to real research is easy; it's common for a study about something else, or a careful "no clear effect", to be cited as support.
Lesson recap
- Vertical reading judges a site by its own look and claims, which can all be faked.
- Lateral reading leaves the site and searches its name to see what independent sources say.
- In the Stanford study, fact-checkers who read laterally beat historians and students, and were faster.
- SIFT: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace to the original.
- Practise click restraint: scan the results before clicking; Wikipedia is a first stop, not the last word.