The internet is an ocean of data, with few rules about what can be uploaded. How do you tell trustworthy information from misinformation or disinformation?
Information can be uploaded to the internet for a variety of reasons: to entertain, to inform, to earn money, or even sometimes to mislead. One of the easiest ways of figuring out the purpose of information is to find out who is behind it.
Someone has made a claim on social media. How do you evaluate whether it's true?
What do Other Sources Say?
Take a moment to try to verify what the author or poster is saying. Are there any news organizations covering the topic? The lateral reading skill from the first question is often useful here, too