Don't let anyone do your thinking for you—including us.
Information can be accurate, misleading, incomplete, outdated, emotional, or completely false.
Critical thinking means slowing down long enough to ask:
What is being claimed? What evidence supports it? Where did the information come from? What might be missing?
🔎 BEFORE YOU BELIEVE OR SHARE SOMETHING
Ask:
WHO said it? Are they identifiable? What expertise or firsthand knowledge do they have?
WHAT is the evidence? Does the claim link to actual data, documents, research, or firsthand evidence?
WHEN is it from? Old information can be real but no longer accurate.
WHERE did the information originate? A hundred accounts repeating the same claim are not a hundred independent sources.
WHY was it published? To inform? Sell? Persuade? Entertain? Generate clicks? Mobilize people?
📰 GO TO THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
When possible, move backward through the information chain.
Instead of relying only on:
A social post about an article →
Read:
The article →
Then find:
The study, dataset, court document, legislation, government report, transcript, or other original evidence.
The closer you get to the original information, the easier it becomes to evaluate what was actually said or found.
⚠️ WATCH FOR RED FLAGS
Be cautious when content:
Uses extreme language to create urgency or outrage Makes enormous claims with little evidence Doesn't identify its sources Uses screenshots without context Presents opinion as established fact Cherry-picks one statistic Claims everyone else is hiding the truth Asks you to share before verifying Only presents evidence supporting one conclusion
A red flag doesn't automatically make something false.
It means you should investigate further.
🧠 CHECK YOUR OWN BIAS TOO
Critical thinking isn't only about catching other people's bias.
People naturally pay more attention to information that fits what they already believe.
When something immediately confirms your worldview, ask:
Would I accept this evidence if it supported the opposite conclusion?