Evaluating sources of scientific evidence and claims in the post-truth era may require reappraising plausibility judgments

By Gale M. Sinatra, Doug Lombardi. 2020

144 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract When individuals have questions about scientific issues, they often search the Internet. Evaluating sources of information and claims they find has become more difficult in the post-truth era. Students are often taught source evaluation techniques, but the proliferation of “fake news” has resulted in a misinformation arms race. As searchers get more sophisticated identifying misleading information, so do purveyors of information who intend to mislead. We draw on a theoretical model of plausibility judgments and current theory and research in source evaluation to suggest that the post-truth era elevates the need for critical evaluation of online information about scientific issues. We argue that explicitly reappraising plausibility judgments may be a crucial addition to evaluating the connections between sources of information and knowledge claims. Individuals who search for and read a scientific article online should ask themselves: Is this explanation plausible, and how do I know?

Subfields: Family Practice, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b5fe9b31a399756f0dade61ab177ec4d31f39a49

Citations in the corpus

• The Debunking Handbook 2020 (2020, unknown): “…all information on social media; slowing down and thinking about the information provided, evaluating its plausibility in light of alternatives 40, 41 ; always considering information sources, including their track record, their expertise, and their motives 42 ; and verifying claims (e.g.,…”