Web Sites

Some Suggested Web Sites (Mr. Reilly approved!)

When you find a Web Site, ask...

Who?

Where?

- - Where did they get their information? (Do they credit or cite sources?) Where is the site hosted or produced? (What organization or business is behind the Web site?)
  - Check out the copyright holder

What?

- - What is the purpose of the Web site? (Is there bias?)
  - What is the quality of work? (Is it well written? Does it contain spelling or grammatical errors?)

When?

- - When was the site created? When was it last updated? (Do the links work?)
  - Check out the "Last Updated" date or copyright date

Why?

- - Why is the information (on the page) useful to you? Why is it the best source for your research?
  - Can you verify (confirm) the contents?

John Green, "The Facts about Fact Checking: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #2," Crash Course

Lateral reading: reading across many sources
- - See what others say about the claim
Google important terms, organizations and names mentioned in your article/source to learn more and verify information
- - Verify the "About' page info!
  - Use a Google image search to check context (for example, did they use an old photo and misrepresent the context?)
Use fact-checking sites
Follow the links in the original article. Do they make sense?

Author (person or organization) is an expert in topic (degrees, work experience, accomplishments match subject of Web page)
A Google search on the author and/or organization turns up positive & reassuring results (no controversies, etc.)
Contact info/address available
URL clues (org, edu, com, gov, etc)
Credits sources (that you can verify exist & trust!) and/or recommends sources for "More Information"
A Google search on the author and/or organization turns up positive & reassuring results (no controversies, etc.)
Well written; correct grammar & spelling with"Live" or working links