Simon Willison’s Weblog

The SIFT method (via) The SIFT method is "an evaluation strategy developed by digital literacy expert, Mike Caulfield, to help determine whether online content can be trusted for credible or reliable sources of information."

This looks extremely useful as a framework for helping people more effectively consume information online (increasingly gathered with the help of LLMs).

• Stop. "Be aware of your emotional response to the headline or information in the article" to protect against clickbait, and don't read further or share until you've applied the other three steps.
• Investigate the Source. Apply lateral reading, checking what others say about the source rather than just trusting their "about" page.
• Find Better Coverage. "Use lateral reading to see if you can find other sources corroborating the same information or disputing it" and consult trusted fact checkers if necessary.
• Trace Claims, Quotes, and Media to their Original Context. Try to find the original report or referenced material to learn more and check it isn't being represented out of context.

This framework really resonates with me: it formally captures and improves on a bunch of informal techniques I've tried to apply in my own work.