Validating the Online Myriad

The ability to effectively determine how credible information is has changed dramatically since the popularization of the internet. Prior to the internet most of our information searching came from publically accepted sources such as encyclopedias, trusted news reporting, text books, teachers or known experts in various fields. The internet however has created a disconnect between knowledge and its source. “An emphasis on credibility is crucial in the success of society’s digital migration because information is increasingly disconnected from its physical origin and, as a consequence, the credibility of information has taken on new complexities, with new implications” (Lankes, 2008, p. 103). When I come across an article explaining how to make a hybrid sport rocket from screen name BlowItUp* do I know what he is saying is legit? Will I have homeland security smashing down my door and hoodwinking me? The Mushroom cloud avatar does have my spider sense tingling. Just as we assess the validity of information from strangers by word of mouth appearance does affect our perception. We also know slick advertising, glitz and show are all there to fool us in to believing someone or something is credible when it may not be. Tactics such as this are commonly used to phish for peoples personal information, such as the common mock-ebay sites that attempt to obtain credit card numbers from the unsuspecting. Since looks aren’t everything, how do we determine the validity of what we see on the internet? Alan November uses a very simple acronym in Web Literacy for Educators to help in this process.

Keep it REAL (he says get real in his book, but I am sure if he reads this he will change it in the second edition cause keeping it real is way cooler)

R = Read the URL
E = Examine the Content
A = ask About the Author and Owner
L = Look at the Links

Reading the URL will assist in dealing with the aforementioned problem. If you’re on what appears to be EBAY, but the URL isn’t something like http://somecategory.shop.ebay.com/someotherstuff (some category is literally a category and someotherstuff is text denoting subfolders) hit alt F4 or the red x if you’re not a keyboard person.

Examining the content is probably one of the more difficult tasks, second to asking about the author, but some steps you can take are: check the date of the site, verify the information on other sites, and collaborate your findings with others. By doing these three things the fact and fiction will begin to separate.

Asking about the author can by far be the most difficult task as a large portion of information on the internet is anonymous or under some pseudonym. However, reputable sites will frequently give authors or contact information which can be used to help verify the validity of one’s claim.

Looking at the links is like judging a person by who they hang out with. Of course a web site can link to where ever they want, so just because a site links to NASA does not mean there article on black holes is legitimate. However if NASA is linking to the article regarding black holes then chances are it is probably a reputable source. Back links such as this can easily be found in Google by searching link:URLofthesite.

Lankes, R. David (2008). “Trusting the Internet: New Approaches to Credibility Tools." DigitalMedia, Youth, and Credibility. Edited by Miriam J. Metzger and Andrew J. Flanagin. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 101–122.

November, Alan (2008.) Web Literacy for Educators. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks CA pgs. 96-97