In an era of information overload, effectively evaluating digital content requires a shift from superficial site analysis to a proactive, external investigation of the information's source.
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- [Narrator] We live in an era of information overabundance.
This demands that we be more discerning.
Instead of accepting information at face value,
we should always ask this one important question.
Who's behind the information?
The Stanford History Education Group conducted a study
with Stanford undergraduates,
professors from four different universities,
and professional fact checkers
to determine the most effective methods
for evaluating digital information.
There were dramatic differences
in how intelligent people looked at the web.
Many smart undergrads
and esteemed professors evaluated a site
by reading vertically, staying on the site
and reading it as if it were a printed document.
They focused on the site's look, it's aesthetics, graphics,
and overall appearance.
They were deceived by an official-looking logo
or the name of the organization.
They attributed importance to the .org
in the URL without realizing that .org is an open domain.
Any individual or group can buy a .org domain
without passing a character test
or proving they're working for social betterment.
They examined scholarly references
and research reports without realizing
that unlike an academic journal, on the web, anything goes.
Intelligent people equipped
with critical thinking skills were often taken
in by slick web pages.
Professional fact checkers approach the web differently.
They understood that on the web,
what you see if often not what you get.
The web is treacherous territory
and you can't let your eyes deceive you.
Landing on an unfamiliar site,
they didn't waste precious time engaged in close reading.
Instead, they opened new tabs
in their browser and read laterally.
Rather than spending time
on a site like the Employment Policies Institute,
they turned to the broader web.
They clicked on a New York Times article
about the Employment Policies Institute
entitled Fight Over Minimum Wage Illustrates
Web of Industry Ties.
They scanned the Wikipedia entry,
which describes the institute as
"a fiscally conservative think tank,
"particularly aimed towards reducing the minimum wage.
"It's staff worked for a public affairs firm owned
"by Richard Berman."
A search for Richard Berman leads
to a 60 Minutes report which labels Berman as "Dr. Evil"
for his use of nonprofit front groups
that advocate on behalf of his corporate clients.
Only 40% of bright Stanford students were able
to make the link to Berman.
100% of the fact checkers did,
often in a fraction of the time.
Lateral reading was the reason why.
Our research studies have shown
that lateral reading can be taught.
Students in classes that completed civic online
reasoning lessons significantly increase their ability
to accurately judge websites compared to a control group.
Lateral reading stands in sharp contrast
to many methods for teaching digital literacy.
These methods focus on long checklists of questions
and keep students' eyes on a single site
before they've even established
that the site is worth their time.
Although the basic idea of lateral reading is simple,
becoming skilled at it takes practice.
Students need to see examples of lateral reading
and practice it with a range of sources.
They also need to know
when they found a reliable news source
or one that's known for conspiracy theories.
Lateral reading helps students
to find better information online and to become informed
and more thoughtful members of society.
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