Evaluating Information Online – Explained by Common Craft

For more than fifteen years Common Craft has been producing high-quality, easy-to-understand explanations of complex topics. The latest topic they’re tackling is evaluating online information.

In Evaluating Information Online Common Craft starts by taking viewers through a brief history of the role of editors in publishing accurate information. The video then provides an explanation of how online publishing has created the bigger challenge of evaluating information we find online. Finally, the second half of the video provides viewers with some simple and powerful ways to evaluate the accuracy of online information.

Evaluating Information Online could be a great video to use as an introduction in a media literacy course or lesson. After students watch the section about fact-checking, give them some statistics to try to fact-check on their own.

All Common Craft videos including Evaluating Information Online can be seen online in their entirety. However, to access the lesson plans associated with the videos and to have the rights to use the videos, you need to have either a Common Craft membership or purchase a download of the video you wish you use.

Disclosure: I have a long-standing, in-kind relationship with Common Craft.