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Information and Media Literacy 

WHAT IS INFORMATION LITERACY? 
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? 

The term “information literacy” was first formally defined in 1988 by the American Library Association (ALA) as:

“The ability to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.”

This definition captures the practical first steps of engaging with information: know what you need, find it, judge it, and use it.  However, in the context of today's information environment where we are bombarded with information nearly all of the time, information literacy is more than it used to be and more essential than ever. 

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Misinformation (false information shared unknowingly) and disinformation (false information shared deliberately) spread faster now than ever through social media and AI tools.

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Information literacy acts as a mental filter that helps people navigate our fast-moving information environment. Information literate people: 

  • Check sources for credibility

  • Cross-check facts with trusted outlets

  • Recognize bias, manipulation, and/or hidden agendas

  • Know who to ask for help 

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USE THE S.I.F.T. METHOD

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STOP

The first move is the simplest. Before engaging with any online content, pause to assess the source's reputation before reading or sharing. Do you know this site or source? If it's unfamiliar to you, use fact-checking tools to evaluate its credibility. The Princeton University Library has a list of fact-checking sites that are reputable. 

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​INVESTIGATE the source

Before engaging with any content, take sixty seconds to find out where it's coming from. Knowing whether the source is a credible expert or a group with an obvious agenda helps you decide how much to trust it. Experts can be wrong and biased sources can sometimes be right, but understanding who's behind a piece and why helps you figure out if it's worth your time.

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FIND better coverage

When you want to know if a claim is true, you don't have to spend time investigating the source that brought it to you, just search for what other reputable sources say about it. Looking at multiple sources and finding the general consensus is usually the fastest way to get to the truth. You don't have to agree with the consensus, but knowing it gives you a solid foundation to work from.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​TRACE claims, quotes, and media back to the original context

Much of what we find online is stripped of context; videos get edited and clipped, captions can mislead, and claims can misrepresent their original sources. When something seems off, trace it back to the original source to see if what you're looking at is being represented accurately.

The SIFT method is a strategy created by digital literacy expert, Mike Caulfield, to help determine whether digital content can be trusted for credible or reliable sources of information. All SIFT information on this page is adapted from his materials with a CC BY 4.0 license.

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