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SIFT: Get Started

What is SIFT?

Created by digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield, SIFT is a method for evaluating online content. It's a set of actions you should take and questions you should ask yourself to establish context, and sort fact from fiction.

To help you find the context you need to make decisions about the content you're finding on the internet, Caulfield created a list of four things to do using the acronym SIFT.

Why is it important?

The infinite amount of information available on the internet exists largely unchecked and can be created and shared by anyone. Trying to evaluate the digital content you're consuming every day can be overwhelming. In fact, some people even reach a point when it feels like no source is trustworthy. This is known as trust compression and this erosion of trust is often a goal of purposeful disinformation and propaganda campaigns.

It's more important than ever that we as consumers of this information have the knowledge and skills to be able to SIFT through all of the information pollution to determine what's fact and what's fiction. 

Acknowledgement

The information on this research guide is adapted from Mike Caulfield's materials with a CC BY 4.0 license, CTRL-F Verification Skills Module, presented by CIVIX, and Caulfield, M., & Wineburg, S. S. (2023). Verified: How to think straight, get duped less, and make better decisions about what to believe online. The University of Chicago Press.