Week 4- David

The intro of Verified brings up a few good points and explanations. It mentions that the internet was supposed to help solve problems, but sometimes it only hypes up content. I find this to be very true, especially with social media. Is easier to find someone seeking validation through likes or swipes, posting live streams, or finding ways to make money online, rather than finding someone posting a “how to” video.

Describing the sense of plausibility feels like common sense at a university student’s point of view, but it really sets up what exactly the book will help us do: find credible websites. When looking up sources and information within an infinite number of websites- some helpful and others not- we must ask ourselves the questions mentioned, “Does it seem true? Does it look credible? Does it feel authoritative?” Using other sources on the internet to check your sources will help get the most accurate information and find out if it is true or not.

Chapter one’s 3 contexts and “SIFT” method are also useful tools for research. I believe the reason this book explains these in full detail is to really get us thinking about the websites we choose. We cannot just assume a site is legit because it looks legit, we need to analyze everything about it. We must look for the date the article was published, who exactly the author is, if the website is meant to steer you in the right direction, or if it is just made for content.

It also requires a bit of common sense when acknowledging which sources are real and reliable. The question “Do I know what I am looking at here” is ultimately going to help you figure out if it should be used or not. Recognize the pictures and words used on the website. Trace the sources the author has used to find if it is reliable. Photoshopped or AI images can also help distinguish these false websites and articles.

It seems a bit time-consuming trying to figure out if your source is credible, but I believe in the long run it would be worth it because people will know what websites to watch out for. I was told that Wikipedia and “dot com” sites were not as reliable as “dot org” sites; however, this book makes a point on the way research should now be done. With fake AI articles and websites with information, it is a good idea to be extra careful in the way we use the internet.