Fake News and Media Literacy

Evaluating Textual Evidence

The second and third steps in fact-checking involve evaluating the evidence authors use to support their claims through lateral reading.  It is important to learn how to identify the good and the bad evidence authors use to support their claims.  

Questions to ask when evaluating textual evidence:

• does the evidence actually back up the claim?
• does the evidence come from another reliable source?
• does the evidence imply a causal relationship but is actually a coincidence?

This last question represents one type of logical fallacy that authors may present as evidence to support their erroneous claims.  Learn more about this fallacy and other logical fallacies on the "Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies" website:

The School of Thought. (2023). Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies.  https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ 

Crash Course. (2019, February 12). Evaluating evidence: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #6.  [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hxhbOvR2TGk