Google Internet Keep Safe Workshop 1: Detecting Lies and Staying True Instructor Handbook - Manual (Page 19)

(c) IKSC 2010 Copying allowed for incidental, classroom purposes. 15
Workshop 1
Lesson Plan 1: Detecting Lies
Web Sources for Web Evaluation
Please note that the web is a dynamic place. Information that is found on certain web pages
may change or may no longer be available. Also, websites could change their location (URL
address) or completely disappear. The list below is only a suggested list of web sources that
you can use as examples. You can find your own sources – some might be genuine sources
but that have a specific point of view or purpose and can illustrate the issue of bias. Other
sources can be bogus websites that are purposefully meant to be a hoax. You can show
some “good source” websites and compare them with sources with less reputation, such as
personal websites, hoax websites, etc.
1. It’s always a good idea to check the Domain Extension and see if it matches the content.
For example:
http://www.whitehouse.gov The official website for the White House.
http://www.whitehouse.org A satirical website about the White House.
http://www.whitehouse.net A hoax website.
2. http://www.peta.org
From the domain extension we can assume (but can’t be sure) that it’s a non-profit
organization. The publisher “Peta” and the logo of the website matches the domain
name. The content is protected by copyrights that are assigned to Peta (bottom of the
page) and there is contact information on the bottom of the page that can be verified. It
seems like a legitimate organization with a genuine website. We can see that Peta has an
agenda (for example, in the “About Us” page). The purpose of the website is to persuade.
When we search the web for “Peta” we learn from other sources that this organization is
sometimes confrontational and extreme in its positions. It is definitely biased: promotes
a certain lifestyle and criticizes certain reputable organizations and businesses. The
information in the website is not presented in a balanced way and we are missing the
point of view of the businesses that Peta condemns in its campaigns.
3. Compare these two sources that contain health information.
http://health.nih.gov/
http://www.wallachonline.com/index.htm
The first resource is reliable (the domain extension indicates that it is a government
source – National Institute of Health. The logo matches the domain name (nih). At the
bottom you can find contact information (mailing address) and a “contact us” link leads
to more contact options. This seems as a very reliable source. You can Google “nih” to
make sure that this is their official site. The “About nih” gives more information about the
credentials of the authors and publisher.