There are many different methods that you can use to determine whether a source is credible. One great method you can use is called lateral reading. Lateral reading is a skill used by professional fact-checkers that helps them quickly review a source and determine whether that source is credible or not. This means instead of only staying on one webpage to determine if a source is credible, lateral reading encourages you to leave the webpage and use other webpages to decide if a source is credible or not.
When you only stay on one webpage, you can only see what that source is saying about themselves. A source might be presenting themselves in a way that is not entirely accurate. Reading vertically (only staying on one webpage) is very time-consuming and does not give you a full indication of the credibility of the source.
Instead, open multiple tabs in your browser to follow links found within the source and do supplemental searches on names, organizations or topics you find. These additional perspectives will help you to evaluate the original article and can end up saving you time.
Maintained by the Center for Media and Democracy. A good place to find additional information about a think tank.
Use to get an overview of the issues that a think tank is discussing and what social, policy or political biases that it brings to the discussion. Be sure to view the history page to determine if there are disputes about the information on the page
Search for the think tank in major newspapers like the New York Times or Washington Post to see if their research is covered in the news. Also look to see how the newspapers characterize the organization. For example, the Center for American Progress is often described as a "left-leaning organization" while the American Enterprise Institute is described as a "conservative research organization."