The CRAAP Test

• “Evaluating Information – Applying the CRAAP Test”

• Ask yourself: “Does this pass the CRAAP test?”

  • Currency

  • Relevance

  • Authority

  • Accuracy

  • Purpose

Start With A Gut Check: “Learning To Spot Fake News”

• Think like a fact checker”

  • Check for previous work: has someone already fact-checked the claim?

  • Go to the source: most web content is not original so go to the source, is it trust-worthy or fact-based?

  • Read laterally: read what other people say about the original source.

  • Circle back: back up and start over if you hit a dead end.

How To Spot Misinformation: “Fake News”

• How to navigate “falsehoods in the information landscape”

  • Exercise skepticism

  • Understand the misinformation landscape

  • Pay extra attention when reading about emotionally-charged and divisive topics

  • Investigate what you're reading or seeing

  • Yelling probably won't solve misinformation

Fact-Checking Online Resources

• American Library Association: Evaluating Information

• “Is it True?”

• “Confronting Fake News and Misinformation: Evaluating & Fact Checking Resources

Additional Resources:

• Center for an Informed Public: Information Literacy Resources (UW Program)

• “MisinfoDay Monthly” Video Lesson on Information Literacy (UW Program)

• Evaluating Information: Information Literacy

• UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Resources

• Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers

Can I just Google it and be done?

• No! Search engines can be biased, and this impacts search results

• Bias can have real world impacts.

• Multiple factors influence search engine results, including your other online activities, if you share a device with other users, your previous internet search history, and how other searchers have interacted with search results.

  • Goldman E. Search Engine Bias and the Demise of Search Engine Utopianism. In: Web Search. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; :121-133. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-75829-7_8 - https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/lvbsh/TN_cdi_springer_books_10_1007_978_3_540_75829_7_8

• Apply your information literacy skills when searching online

Can I just use Wikipedia and be done?

• No! Wikipedia can be a helpful source for surface-level information

• Check the citations and links to verify if they are reliable and trustworthy.

• Trace the information back to its original sources.

• Don’t rely on Wikipedia alone for scholarly research

• Anyone can add, edit, or delete entries, and information can be wrong.

• Bias can have real world impacts