Evaluating Web sites is not easy. Unlike a library where the print resources have already been evaluated by the Librarian, the Internet does not have a Librarian or set of criteria. It is available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime allowing us all to be heard. Some people like to intentionally create false information. Some of the kinds of false, misleading and sometimes dangerous information that you might encounter include:

• hoaxes, urban legends and chain letters
• viruses or other destructive files and programs
• parodies or sites with political agendas
• false or fraudulent Web sites or email

Fake Web Sites

Hoaxes of different kinds also present a major and growing challenge for evaluating information found on Web sites. To decide if a site is authentic and what its bias is, you may have to look at several levels to find information for "About" or "Contact Us" pages, and research who created the site and why.

Always perform a quick Web site evaluation. Check for accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage. Use the Web site evaluation criteria you chose in the previous lessons.

Some organizations have begun creating challenge exercises to help people learn to distinguish between reliable and problematic Web sites by practicing with examples. In Lesson #1 you visited Lesley University's Web site to explore their criteria for evaluating Web resources. Now, return to Lesley University's Web site for a Hoax Challenge.

Hoax sites can be created for different reasons. In some cases, they are simply sites with substantial misinformation, due to the lack of expertise of the site creator. However, others intentionally create sites that offer false information, in order to pursue political or personal agendas. A well-known example of a fake site with a political agenda is the World Trade Organization (WTO) Spin-off, where a group protesting the work of the WTO has created a similar site with different information.

Parodies, Satire, Humor & Educational Fakes

Various people write parody sites based on the Web sites of well known companies or products. In some cases, the intent is humor, in others it is to mislead or to demonstrate the ease of creating false content on the Web. Frequently political candidates and the government are parodied on the Web. In some cases, these jokes and parodies are difficult to distinguish from serious sites.

Fictional Worlds

A variation on the parody and humor type of site is fictional worlds. It is becoming more common for games, movies and other events or causes to promote themselves through interlocking series of web sites or pages that create a virtual, fictional world, that seems to be almost real. Teachers should be aware of these fictional worlds, as students may be attracted to spend a large amount of time in them, and some appear to be regular informational web pages.

False Claims & Fraud

Public willingness to believe false claims posted on the Internet has risen to a disturbingly high level that U.S. government agencies have begun programs to help consumers identify and deal with some of the hoaxes and fraudulent sites they encounter.