Evaluating Sources

Information is never truly neutral.

Information is produced or formed by people and will generally represent or reflect a certain point of view.

When considering the purpose of a source, it's helpful to think about why it was made. Why is it important to the creator or publisher to share this content?

Some common reasons:

• To inform, such as textbooks or newspapers
• To persuade or advocate, such as editorials, opinion pieces, or reviews
• To entertain, such as viral videos or comic strips
• To sell a product or service, such as advertising or marketing materials
• To get hits and drive viewers to a site, such as listicles that appear at the bottom of web pages

Keep in mind that content can be published for multiple reasons. For instance, an editorial cartoon is meant to simultaneously entertain AND persuade its audience.