See these top tips for fact-checking:

• Check for previous work: Look around to see if someone else has already fact-checked the claim or provided a synthesis of research.

• Go “upstream” to the source of the claim. Most web content is not original. Get to the original source to understand the trustworthiness of the information.

• Read laterally: Once you get to the source of a claim, read what other people say about the source (publication, author, etc.). The truth is in the network.

• Circle back: If you get lost, hit dead ends, or find yourself going down an increasingly confusing rabbit hole, back up and start over knowing what you know now. You’re likely to take a more informed path with different search terms and better decisions.