5WH Fact Checking

Since anyone can post almost anything online, it is essential to exercise critical judgment and evaluate the sources of information you find using rigorous criteria.

You must also ensure that the information is accessible and meets your information needs. You must then find at least two other sources that validate this information. This is a rigorous process, but being able to do this is an essential skill in today’s world.

To evaluate the sources of information you have found, you must exercise critical judgement as you:

• Evaluate the reliability of the sources of information.
• Ensure the sources you have found are relevant to your information needs. (You may need to modify your search queries to obtain more relevant results.)
• Use a variety of sources to validate their reliability (triangulation).

Use the following tools in class to guide your students through this process.

These resources were translated from the French version : Martine Mottet, Licence Creative Commons Paternité - Pas d’utilisation commerciale - Partage des conditions initiales à l’identique 2.0 Canada