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ENGLISH 1010

This guide presents a set of resources for use with freshman writing courses that do not have an instructor-specific guide.

 

Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers

 
Mike Caulfield’s open textbook Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers is useful for anyone trying to get closer to the truth.
Caulfield's model suggests four basic tactics for evaluating information and emphasizes building a habit of monitoring emotional reactions.
 
The Four Moves: 
  • Check for previous work: Look around to see if someone else has already fact-checked the claim or provided a synthesis of research.
  • Go upstream to the source: Go “upstream” to the source of the claim. Most web content is not original. Get to the original source to understand the trustworthiness of the information.
  • Read laterally: Once you get to the source of a claim, read what other people say about the source (publication, author, etc.). The truth is in the network.
  • Circle back: If you get lost, hit dead ends, or find yourself going down an increasingly confusing rabbit hole, back up and start over knowing what you know now. You’re likely to take a more informed path with different search terms and better decisions.
The textbook also maintains a reference list of reputable fact-checking organizations.
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