Lateral reading is a strategy for evaluating the credibility of a source by comparing it to other sources. It’s especially useful when researching online. 

How to do lateral reading 

1. Open new tabs in your browser
2. Search for other sources that discuss the same topic
3. Compare and contrast the information from different sources
4. Look for evidence of bias or messaging from the original source
5. Check for hyperlinks or citations to other sources
6. Research the organizations or sources cited in the original piece

Why is lateral reading important?

• It helps you determine if the information you’re reading is credible 
• It helps you understand the author’s intent and biases 
• It helps you find potential weaknesses in the original source 

When to use lateral reading?

• When you’re researching a topic online 
• When you’re trying to evaluate the credibility of a source 
• When you’re trying to determine if a claim is true or false 

Where to find additional information? 

• Well-known fact-checking websites like Snopes, FactCheck.org, and PolitiFact
• Articles from other credible sources

• Expand your view with lateral reading – News Literacy Project“In brief, lateral reading (as opposed to vertical reading) is the act of verifying what you’re reading as you’re reading it,” wri…News Literacy Project
• Online Research: Lateral Reading and SIFTDec 12, 2024 — What is Lateral Reading? Lateral reading is an evaluation strategy that’s especially helpful in the online environment…Research Guides
• What is lateral reading? – ScribbrLateral reading is the act of evaluating the credibility of a source by comparing it with other sources. This allows you to: Verif…Scribbr
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Featured snippet from the web

Lateral reading is the act of evaluating the credibility of a source by comparing it with other sources. This allows you to: Verify evidence. Contextualize information. Find potential weaknesses.

Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online

Mike Caulfield, Sam Wineburg

An indispensable guide for telling fact from fiction on the internet—often in less than 30 seconds.

The internet brings information to our fingertips almost instantly. The result is that we often jump to thinking too fast, without taking a few moments to verify the source before engaging with a claim or viral piece of media. Information literacy expert Mike Caulfield and educational researcher Sam Wineburg are here to enable us to take a moment for due diligence with this informative, approachable guide to the internet. With this illustrated tool kit, you will learn to identify red flags, get quick context, and make better use of common websites like Google and Wikipedia that can help and hinder in equal measure.
 
This how-to guide will teach you how to use the web to verify the web, quickly and efficiently, including how to
•     Verify news stories and other events in as little as thirty seconds (seriously)
•     Determine if the article you’re citing is by a reputable scholar or a quack
•     Detect the slippery tactics scammers use to make their sites look credible
•     Decide in a minute if that shocking video is truly shocking
•     Deduce who’s behind a site—even when its ownership is cleverly disguised
•     Uncover if that feature story is actually a piece planted by a foreign government
•     Use Wikipedia wisely to gain a foothold on new topics and leads for digging deeper

And so much more. Building on techniques like SIFT and lateral reading, Verified will help students and anyone else looking to get a handle on the internet’s endless flood of information through quick, practical, and accessible steps. 

(Goodreads.com)