Why Should I Care?
With vast amounts of information on the web and growing, we need a way to find reliable news. These days, setting up a website is trivial. Authors may publish whatever they please. Thus, we must understand that not all authors will abide by the guidelines created by The Canadian Association of Journalists.
As humans, we have a cognitive capacity we can only absorb so much information at once (known as cognitive load).
Below are things that have a significant impact on what we view on the web.
Search Engines
Search engines influence what information you are more likely to view. Some motives include bias, censorship, etc.
Take a look at this video posted by The Hated One.
DuckDuckGo's privacy newsletter covers more on the topic.
Search engines are just the beginning ...
Misleading or Sensationalized Titles
Have you ever been confronted with a confusing road sign? The web is like a confusing road sign, potentially causing you to inadvertently make an incorrect turn.
We refer to this content as fake news or clickbait content. Its purpose is simple - to entice users to enter or remain on a particular website for a longer period of time than originally planned. Possibly dwelling at content unrelated to the initially requested content.
More attracted users = more revenue
Information Favouritism (Bias)
Everyone has their own opinion on any topic. This is particularly important in areas that consist of controversial topics such as politics.
With news coming from many sources, it is difficult to distinguish expository (factual) news from fabricated news.
advertisements
Within any oft-visited areas (cities, public transportation) there are many forms of advertisements:
- Billboards
- Posters
- Etc.
You may see many of these as you commute or stroll around. If you're not intrigued, you look away and simply move on with your day.
On the web, things are different. Website authors intentionally place ads on their websites forcing you to view the ads. Since the information may be freely accessed, this is their monetization strategy.
It's no secret that tracking software follows you around. This makes advertisements cater to individual users. Since authors want to maximize profits, advertisements are extremely prevalent.
Depending on the design of the particular webpage, advertisements could appear like they are one with the website. This results in distracting the user from what they were interested in.
What Can I Do?
Contents
Tools and tricks that I recommend you use to find good news sources.
- Quality Assessment Tool
- CRAAP Test
- Determine Biases
- Check Disclosures
- Use Sources from the Library
More information about some recommendations/tools follow.
CRAAP Test
The most reliable and robust method for verifying any piece of information on the web. It was created by California State University. CRAAP is an acronym for:
- Currency - Is the information regularly updated?
- Relevance - Do you need this information?
- Authority - Can we trust the author's content?
- Accuracy - Is the information correct if we fact-check?
- Purpose - Is the news exclusively factual or persuasive?
Determine Biases
There are always two sides to Every story - Jonathan Edwards
This quote coined by Jonathan Edwards has significant importance.
The following video can aid users in determining bias.
Check disclosures
It is integral for news authors and journalists to disclose when they sponsor a company. Clearly these news stories will have bias.
As suggested by this article, you should carefully look for any indication of advertisements or sponsorships. It may purposefully not be obvious.
Credits:
Created with images by al-grishin - "reporter news journalist" • john-i - "fake news hoax highway" • JayMantri - "bookshelf library literature" • vinsky2002 - "outdoor street road"