AI Source Evaluator for Students

How it works

From a source to credibility assessment in four steps.

Enter a URL or source description

The teacher enters the title of the source, an optional web link or DOI, and what the source says. The AI uses the source information to begin the SIFT evaluation: Stop (pause before accepting the claim), Investigate the source (who is behind this?), Find better coverage (what do other sources say about this claim?), and Trace claims (where did this claim originally come from?).

AI evaluates authority, accuracy, currency, and bias

The AI evaluates these dimensions of source credibility. Authority: is the author or organization a recognized expert in this field? Accuracy: are the claims supported by evidence, and are sources cited? Currency: is the information recent enough to be relevant? Purpose: is this trying to inform, persuade, sell, or entertain? Bias: what perspective does the author or publication have, and how does it shape the content?

Record your judgement and reasons

The worksheet ends with a judgement: use it, use it with care, or do not use it, and why. Red flags to look for can include "No author named," "Publication has a documented ideological agenda," "Statistic cited with no original study linked," "Domain designed to mimic a credible source."

Look for corroborating sources

For any claim a student wants to use in their research, the worksheet asks which other trusted sources say the same. A student relying on a think tank report might look for the peer-reviewed studies the report summarizes. A student using a news article might look for the government data set the journalist cited. Corroboration is the key skill that separates reliable research from Wikipedia-level citation chains.

The source credibility problem

Stanford researchers studying source evaluation found that even professors and PhD students were significantly outperformed by professional fact-checkers at identifying credible sources, not because of intelligence, but because fact-checkers use lateral reading (checking what others say about a source) while academics tend to read sources carefully and try to evaluate them from the inside. Students who learn lateral reading skills can evaluate sources more accurately and more quickly than those who rely on reading-based judgment alone.

The AI Source Evaluator teaches lateral reading as the primary strategy, not as a supplementary check.

What the source evaluator includes

Every evaluation teaches the student how to make the same judgment independently next time.

SIFT method framework

SIFT (Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims) is a lateral reading framework developed by Mike Caulfield. The AI evaluates every source through all four steps and says what the student must look up and check. Students who learn SIFT develop a transferable habit of pausing before accepting claims, which is one of the most important information literacy skills in a high-misinformation environment.

A judgement with reasons

There is no score: the worksheet ends with the student's own judgement and reason. The explanation teaches the student to make the same judgment independently next time.

Red flag identification

Students look for red flags in the source: unnamed authors, sensationalist headline language, missing citations for specific statistics, domain names designed to look credible, publication dates that predate evidence they claim to report, and claims that cannot be traced to an original study. Red flag identification is more useful than a vague "use caution" warning.

Lateral reading guidance

Lateral reading means leaving a source immediately to look at what other sources say about it, rather than reading the source itself more carefully. Professional fact-checkers use lateral reading because it is faster and more reliable than trying to evaluate a source from the inside. The AI teaches this skill by explicitly directing the student to check the source's reputation on independent platforms.

Finding corroborating sources

After checking a source, the worksheet asks which other trusted sources say the same; students decide which databases to search, what search terms to use, and what type of source (peer-reviewed study, government data, independent investigation) would provide the strongest corroboration. Corroboration is not just about finding agreement: students ask whether multiple sources agree because they all reference the same original study or because independent evidence supports the claim.

Bias and purpose analysis

Every source has a purpose and a perspective. A pharmaceutical company's press release about a drug study is not the same as an independent clinical trial. A think tank's policy report reflects its funders' priorities. The worksheet asks who made it, what they gain, and what is left out, so the student knows how to read the source critically.

Who uses the source evaluator

High school teachers use the worksheet with students writing research papers, before they cite any source they found through a general web search. The worksheet is useful for exactly the situation where students are most likely to make a credibility mistake, when they have found a source that confirms their argument and want to use it without checking further.

Social studies and current events teachers use the tool as a classroom media literacy exercise. Students evaluate the same set of sources on printed worksheets and compare their judgements and reasoning. The discussion about why two students rated the same source differently often produces the deepest media literacy learning.

Journalism and communications teachers use the tool as part of teaching reporting workflows. Before citing a statistic or source in a piece, the student works through the worksheet to trace the claim back to the original study or data set.

Librarians and information literacy instructors use the tool as a demonstration platform when teaching database research and source evaluation units. The explainability of the SIFT evaluation makes it suitable for classroom instruction, not just individual use.