Length: 3-5 pages (keep it concise!)

Topic: Internet Credibility

Most of you regularly use the internet for a variety of purposes:

• Researching your college papers
• Following sports
• Obtaining news
• Keeping track of personalities & entertainment
• … and probably many more

In this assignment, you will answer these questions:

• How do you know what to trust on the internet?
• Where do you look for clues of authenticity?
• Why would you believe a news source which calls itself "Yahoo!"?
• What standards (if any) do you apply to internet-based sources of news and information?

I. First, on the first page of your paper, list your own ideas about standards you apply when you use the web for information.

II. Next, visit and review the contents of this site (you need not write about it):

http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/news.htm

III. Next, visit all of the following web sites and evaluate them according to your standards:

• http://www.lme.mankato.msus.edu/mankato/mankato.html
• The Smoking Section (After entering the site, select "Smokers' Issues") (http://www.smokingsection.com)
• Tobacco Control Archives (http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/index.html)
• The National Right to Life Committee (http://www.nrlc.org)
• NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) (http://www.naral.org)
• Consumer Reports Online (http://www.consumerreports.org)
• Melatonin Central (http://www.melatonin.com)
• The White House (http://www.whitehouse.net) (Be sure to "refresh" or "reload" this page several times.)
• The White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov)

IV. In the body of your paper (after the first page), discuss your conclusions about each of these sites.

• Answer these questions: Which sites do you find useful? Useless? Credible? Objective? Why?
• You'll see that some of these sites are related. How are they similar/different?
• Use examples to demonstrate that you have actually visited and evaluated these sites.