Significance of web credibility assessment
The Internet has two good properties, there is a lot of content about several topics on the Internet and it is also easy to access the Internet. This is even more true since now there are more users on the Internet that are using their mobile devices. This coupled with the fact that there are a increased number of smart phone users and thus more people accessing the Internet means there is content from many sources.
It has thus become almost second nature to look up any issue or inquire about some fact on the Internet that many of us tend to believe just about any that we find on the Internet. So much so that many do not think twice about sharing an interesting story on the Internet no matter how
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• There has been a 700% increase in the number of Internet users from 2000 to 2014 as per the Internet World Stats published in 2014.
Thus the statistics clearly displays how more number of people are depending on information found on the Internet. It is easy and quick to do so and as far as it is a reliable source that is fine too. However this does raise the issue of the credibility of the information found on the Internet.
The users find their information from several sources on the Internet. For example websites, blogs, wiki pages, e-news, e-books, e-libraries and even e-journals. The cost of information in general has drastically reduced since the advent of the Internet. With more number of people depending on the Internet for the Information on various fields and many different sources there could be some serious consequences of following the wrong advice.
Online Information - Concern about Credibility
There are more chances of find the right solution or information on the Internet than not and considering the fact that many of us will usually consult more than one website for information means the chance of it being right are high. However there is always the possibility that it isn't. Here are a few examples of what the consequences of getting it wrong could
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It does often happen that some news flash found on the Internet may seem very cool, hip, happening or shocking that you instantly share it without considering the credibility of the source. With such news events; there always big chances that it is a fake news item.
Steps to take to ensure website credibility
• Publishing photos: There are many benefits of publishing photos of yourself and your team on the website as well. A photo may not mean much and the visitors may not recognize you however it does improve credibility.
• Be more contactable: By creating a contact page with accurate information about the physical address as well contact phone numbers; the visitors are likely to trust the website even more.
• FAQ Page: A visitor or a client visiting your website is usually looking for information on some topic or want assurance on how the business deal is likely to turn out. Creating a FAQ page will help in a big way. Because by the way it is possible to publish the answer to almost all the common questions and concerns of the client or visitor what eve the case may
There are five different criteria that should always be met when it comes to evaluating a website. These criteria’s include accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). Accuracy is deciphering who is hosting the website, if the website has stated the purpose and audience, and if the information on the site is reliable. A good way to check if the information can be trusted is to compare the facts found on the website with other information and facts found from other internet or print sources. Authority is verifying that the author of the website is real, because if the author is real then the information can usually be trusted as well (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). To check the authority of a site, the page should be examined for information about the author, note if anyone else has contributed to the website, check for contact information, and see if the author has created other websites with factual information. It is a good sign if there is contact information for the author, because it means someone is taking credit for the information on the page (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). If someone is taking credit, there is a better chance that the information can be trusted because the author would not want a bad reputation and to be held accountable for sharing false information. The objectivity of a website is deciding if the website is trying to sway the reader’s opinion, and if it is biased. If the advertisements on the site are being supplied by the author of the site, then there is a good chance the page is biased. There should be no bias or opinion located on a site that is supposed to supply factual information (“Criter...
Metzger, M. J. (2010). Making sense of credibility on the web: Models for evaluating online information and recommendations for future research. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(13), 2078-2091. doi:10.1002/asi.20672
In the book, Trust Me I’m Lying Confessions of a Media Manipulator, there was a certain element of deceit throughout, the narrative, where a manipulator was able to produce a good living by means of lying, thus ultimately fooling themselves and the world around them. Ryan Holiday explains in his book, “Many have no idea of how much their general worldview is influenced by the way news is generated online” (13). In order to gain the readers attention, bloggers on the internet follow no set of regulations, adhere to no limits, and unfortunately, write anything and everything in order to gain attention, because in the world of media, large amounts of publicity can mean the difference between success and failure. Media manipulators go to heavy extremes in order to get random victims to click on their articles. Consequently, everything ever written on the internet could potentially be a lie, which forces the question what to believe? Upon examining a blog article written by Rebecca Rose, “Female Pilot Gets Sexist Note from Sexist Passenger,” this is evidence just how untrustworthy and deceitful the internet can be. When researching articles on the internet, people must
That's the framework for professionals, but there are ways for everyone to do a bit of fact checking themselves.’” (Davis). If the information seems like it could be true and not at the same time, other websites may help in finding whether that information is true or not. Information has a way of making people feel that they know everything instantly. Some articles though can be misleading and exaggerated. The ‘A Dog's Purpose’ video/article was both. Leading people to believe that a dog had been forced to do something it was not comfortable with as well as saying that the dog had been thrown in, when in reality the video clip was cut and the next thing seen is the dog in the water (Liptik). Fake information can be very deceiving, yet believable at the same time. When trying to tell if the information is true or not check to see if the website is reliable, check multiple websites if needed, and look to see if the article title is too misleading or exaggerated. With the internet growing more and more every day you are bound to come across false information eventually, but there are things that you can do to prevent
Are you constantly fooled by news articles on the internet? Fake information can be about anything now, and is generally found in the news and in social media. Fake information is ever so prevalent today, and readers can prevent themselves from getting fooled, by searching for other relevant articles, watching out for truthiness, and by finding the articles credibility. One way to spot fake information is to research other links and articles available. Readers should dig deeper into these news stories by checking their hyperlinks since “many times these bogus stories will cite official — or official-sounding — sources” (Kiely).
Live broadcasts are proof that the stories are real and true. Most of the news media networks are bias and only show one side of the story. The media will tend to exaggerate stories and make a bigger deal out of thing to get views and popularity. Even though the public can have a hard time trusting the media the news media is mostly factual information. “44% of tweens and teens in a recent
Johnson, Kirsten A., and Susan Wiedenbeck. "Enhancing Perceived Credibility Of Citizen Journalism Web Sites." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 86.2 (2009): 332-348.
On the other hand, it has been praised as being able to provide useful information, such as the more useful links that are made available, enabling the learner to retrieve the required information, in a shorter period. Again, it has been pointed by some scholars as being accurate minus the mistakes that are obvious. Similarly, the editorial context in Wikipedia, poses the challenge in relation to the content made available in their system. Without having in place, the system that checks the kind of information released by individuals, the issues of biasness can be viewed, because the individuals making inputs can present what they feel is critical to
The Unreliable Realities Internet has come to be a widely used technological advancement. One can see this as a progressive move because it enables the masses to be accessible to a variety of information, but at the same time, due to the lack of proper standardization, it is difficult to ensure that only best and true knowledge enters the web. However, due to multiple voices spreading over the internet, the world in the lived reality and the virtual reality tend to differ drastically. The aim of the paper is to explore this gap and highlight the different ways in which the reliability of information over web is questionable, both on a theoretical front and psychological front. Therefore, the idea is that in living through the two different
The misinformation spread could be limited through the removal of ads that are displayed on the fake news websites. These websites are “running the same types of ads as large media companies, misleading online publishers have given themselves a familiar look that readers may struggle to differentiate from traditional news sources” (Dave). The advertisements found within a fake news website and a credible one are similar because advertising companies want to increase profits by their ad traffic. The amount of traffic a website receives directly affects the amount of money the website and advertising company earn. Websites which distribute misinformation fabricate interesting stories to attract traffic and increase profits.
The Internet’s influence on our lives has spread throughout. According a 2009 US Census survey 74% of Americans use the internet and have access within their household.A number that has increased every year since 1990 and will sure grow in the future. In this survey they relieved that they did various activities on the internet including social media, (Facebook and Twitter) researching and reading news articles, watching YouTube videos, shopping and so much more all can be done with a computer or Internet enabled phone. With this ease of use and convenience it casts a shadow upon the future of printed and broadcast information. The Web’s instant and vast knowledge bank has changed ...
Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.
However, as time has moved on, research seems to support the proponents of the Internet, and can be explained by two changes in Internet use that have occurred since its manifestation. First off, an increase in the amount of Internet users has allowed for indi...
The objective of this essay is to compare Internet research with other sources of information which include books, word of mouth and primary research. This paper will also look at ways of ascertaining the validity of research information for academic work.
The Internet has made access to information easier. Information is stored efficiently and organized on the Internet. For example, instead of going to our local library, we can use Internet search engines. Simply by doing a search, we get thousands of results. The search engines use a ranking system to help us retrieve the most pertinent results in top order. Just a simple click and we have our information. Therefore, we can learn about anything, immediately. In a matter of moments, we can become an expert.