Evaluating Sources Using Lateral Reading

What is Lateral Reading?

• Lateral reading is when you look outside of your source to seek additional information about a source's credibility, reputation, funding sources, and biases.
• When looking at an unfamiliar source, open a new browser tab and search for information about that source.
   

Strategies

Learn how to read laterally by applying the strategies below to your evaluation.

• Research the author and publisher. Open a new tab and perform a web search to see what other sources say about the reputation of your author and the publisher of the information.
• Use Wikipedia. Wikipedia can be a great place to learn information about the publisher of your source, author, or your topic in general.
• Check for consensus. Check other sources to see if you find significant contrasting claims. If you do, you may need to look at your source more closely.
• Bias & Fact-Checker Sites. Take advantage of bias and fact-checker websites that may have already done an evaluation of the publisher for you or fact-checked a claim.
• Find the original source. If your source is discussing a research study or following a story from another source, check the original source for accuracy.

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