One aspect of information literacy that is generally useful to everyone is being able to critically evaluate information sources for quality. Librarians, professors, and your colleagues will help you hone your critical thinking skills in many different aspects, this being one of them.
The first question to ask yourself when you encounter an information source might be: “Do you want to base your professional reputation on this source as a point of evidence?”
Lateral Reading
In an effort to weed out disinformation, malinformation, as well as, significant bias, we first should practice a skill employed by professional fact checkers: Lateral reading.
Watch this short video: Stanford History Education Group short video on Lateral Reading (4 min.)
Watch at least two of these videos on Lateral Reading, but as many as you need to understand the concept.
Lateral Reading from the University of Louisville Libraries. (4 min.)
Online Verification Skills with Mike Caulfield (4 videos, 10 min.)
Check Yourself with Lateral Reading: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #3 with John Green (14 min.)