Do I Know What I’m Looking At?
A heuristic for evaluating information credibility by first asking whether you know the source and whether reputable sources confirm the claim, rather than immediately asking 'Is this true?'.
THE IDEA
“Do I Know What I’m Looking At?”
Consider a post claiming that a celebrity has died. Begin with the “context of you”: what do you already know about the source or the claim? Looking at the post, text, or update you have received, you ask the most important initial question. That question is not “Is this true?” but rather “Do I know what I’m looking at here?” Do I recognize the source? Have I heard this elsewhere from reputable sources? If there’s evidence—a screenshot of a headline: Do I know that it is not a photoshopped image, or am I merely guessing?
Assuming the answers there are “no,” “no,” and “yes, you caught me, I’m guessing,” there are two pieces of context that could help support the claim (in this instance, the idea the celebrity has died).
- The person you hear it from knows the celebrity well (e.g., is a good friend, spouse, or family member).
- When you search for reporting on it, a number of reputable publications say the person has died.
If one of those things is true, all your dorm-room speculation doesn’t matter. The news is likely credible. If neither check supplies confirmation, treat the story as unverified and keep looking before sharing it.
Of course, this is a simple example. Outside zombie cinema, there’s not that much middle ground between alive and dead. But by making such context-seeking a habit—and by seeking context before engaging in analysis—you can get further faster on a wide variety of issues. And these two aspects—thinking about the authority of the source you heard it from and seeing what others say—will be central.
When to use it
Evaluating the credibility of a viral post on social media
Assessing a rumor heard from a colleague before sharing it
Deciding whether to trust a screenshot of a headline without checking the original source
Checking the reliability of a news story before forming an opinion
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Celebrity death rumor
A friend tells you a celebrity has died, but you have not heard it from any reputable news source. Instead of assuming it's true, you check if the friend is a close family member of the celebrity or if multiple reputable publications report it. If neither check supplies confirmation, treat the rumor as unverified rather than sharing it as fact.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a recent news story you encountered on social media. Did you ask 'Do I know what I’m looking at?' or did you assume it was true? How might that have changed your response?
When you hear a surprising claim from a friend, what steps can you take to verify context before believing it?
How does this heuristic differ from simply asking 'Is this true?' and why is that distinction important?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Verified How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online (Mike Caulfield, Sam Wineburg)