Lateral reading is a simple and effective means of evaluating online information sources to help you learn if an unfamiliar website is conveying worthwhile, trustworthy information. When you come across a site new to you, don't start by actually looking at the page itself, or looking for artificial markers of "legitimacy" like the About page, URL, or citations. Instead, move laterally away from the page by opening a new tab in your browser and conducting a web search for the site or its author to see what others have to say about them. Bad actors on the internet will, of course, tell you they're trustworthy, but newspaper stories, fact checking sites, or even Wikipedia articles about them may help you discover the site's ill intentions.
The following short videos explain lateral reading in greater detail:
