The SIFT Method is a tool for evaluating information in 60 seconds. It focuses on searching other sources to verify the creator's authority and the creator's claims.
- Stop what you're reading and watching and ask yourself:
- Do I know this site or source?
- What is my goal in watching or reading this information? Do I want to verify the claim they're making?
- Do I want to share this video?
- Investigate the source. Run a quick search on the publisher, author, or creator.
- Do they have expertise or experience in the subject?
- Do they have an agenda? (i.e. Are they trying to sell you something? Is their primary purpose to get you to vote a certain way?)
- Find better coverage. If you want to investigate the claim they are making, search the claim and scan multiple sources.
- Trace back to the original.
- If you're unsure if an image has been photoshopped, run a reverse image search.
- Did the source quote a respected source? Find the original quote to see if it was misquoted or taken out of context.
The SIFT Method by Mike Caulfield is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
