Week 6: Lateral Reading and Digital Literacy in the AI Era

May 11

Big Idea: Critical thinking is more important than ever.

With AI becoming the norm in schools, the skillset our students need most isn’t just knowing how to use a tool, it’s knowing when, why, and whether to trust it. Critical thinking, especially in how we engage with digital content, is no longer optional. It’s a foundation for both digital citizenship and responsible innovation.

This week, we focus on one of the most vital 21st-century skills: lateral reading, the act of leaving a site to verify its claims through other reputable sources, and how it intersects with fact-checking AI-generated information.

🧠 Why Lateral Reading Matters in the Age of AI

Traditional digital literacy taught students to analyze a source based on how it looks—does it have ads? Does it cite sources? But savvy disinformation is now designed to look credible. That’s where lateral reading comes in.

Developed by researchers at the Stanford History Education Group and incorporated into the Checkology curriculum, lateral reading teaches students to investigate the source before trusting the story. It’s how professional fact-checkers work, and it’s now how our students must learn to engage with information, especially when AI is in the mix.

🤖 When the Source Is the Machine

Now, with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and search tools like Perplexity or You.com providing quick-sounding answers, the question becomes: How do we fact-check something that doesn’t cite clearly or may hallucinate information?

That’s where students need a second level of lateral reading: fact-checking the machine.

Using the Day of AI curriculum, students can explore how generative AI models work, what influences their outputs, and how bias, training data, or outdated information can shape results. Once they understand why the machine might be wrong, they’re more equipped to question it.

✅ Lateral Reading & AI Fact-Check Checklist for Students

Use this student-friendly checklist before trusting any information—whether it comes from a website, a social media post, or an AI assistant:

🔍 Who made this?
Can you find the organization or author behind the information?
🌐 What do other sites say?
Open a new tab and search the source itself (not the claim). Use Wikipedia, Media Bias/Fact Check, or AllSides to check credibility.
🧭 What’s the purpose of this content?
Is it to inform, persuade, sell, or entertain? What’s the angle?
🤔 Can I find this claim elsewhere?
Try searching the claim using a few key phrases. Do trusted outlets confirm it?
🤖 If AI gave me this, can I trace the source?
Ask the AI where it got the information. Then verify that source with steps 1–4.

📝 Student Activity: Truth Sleuths

Goal: Teach students to practice lateral reading and AI fact-checking in a hands-on investigation.

Choose a claim: Present students with 2–3 controversial, viral, or surprising “facts” (can be AI-generated or taken from TikTok/YouTube/etc.).
Fact-check using lateral reading: In pairs or small groups, have students research:
- Who said it?
- What do other sources say?
- What’s the general consensus from reputable outlets?
AI Test: Then, ask the same claim to ChatGPT or another AI tool. Does it provide a different answer? Does it cite sources?
Reflect & Share: Students create a mini-poster or slide answering: “Should we trust this? Why or why not?”

🔗 Bonus Integration

If you’re already using Checkology, try pairing it with a Day of AI lesson on AI misinformation. For example:

Checkology’s “InfoZones” pairs well with Day of AI’s “How Do Machines Learn?”
Both encourage students to slow down and question, not just consume.

Final Thoughts

In a world where AI can generate answers faster than we can think, the most radical thing we can teach students is how to think slowly, critically, and laterally. Lateral reading isn’t just a literacy skill anymore, it’s an act of digital resilience and civic responsibility.

📄 Bonus Worksheet: Lateral Reading in Action

To help students put their skills into practice, I’ve created a bonus worksheet that walks them through the process of verifying AI-generated content using lateral reading strategies.

After asking a chatbot like ChatGPT a question, students are prompted to:

Write down the answer they received.
(e.g., “How does plastic pollution affect the ocean?”)
Identify a reliable source that supports or challenges the information.
Students must use lateral reading to leave the chatbot and explore a trustworthy website—such as a scientific journal, a .gov site, or a well-known news outlet.
List the site name and the URL.
Find two additional interesting or relevant facts from the site that weren’t mentioned by the AI. This helps students see how much more rich, nuanced, or accurate human-curated sources can be.

This activity can be completed in one class period or extended into a deeper research assignment. It builds digital literacy and reinforces that AI is a tool—but truth requires curiosity, action, and verification.

Rachel Lugo