This website, and this link to the NY Times, had me scratching my head for a good few minutes. I didn’t even realize the hoax until I looked at the titles of some of the articles, and the URL’s.
I can see people, like my dad, who are less Web inclined not being able to decipher the difference whatsoever. Therefore, believing the untrue stories, taking away from the credibility of the real content the NY Times has to offer on the Web.
This reveals some of the downsides of the Web in regards to accuracy, truth, and credibility.
This reminds me of high school when catty teenage girls found humor in making fake MySpace pages for people they didn’t like. They would post malicious, and untrue information about their victim. Thus, taking away their credibility and ruining their reputation. Which in high school seems to be the equivalent of the world ending.
Credibility problems on the Web have been problems for numerous companies and celebrities alike.
People need to become more wary about the information they see on the Web, as the first two NY Times websites exemplify.
Stanford University is partaking in Web Credibility Research, and evaluating what causes people to believe what they see on the Web.
Be skeptical about everything you see, hear, or read, especially on the Web. Which is a place where almost anyone can post anything.
In the word’s of Napoleon Bonaparte, “Skepticism is a virtue in history, as well as philosophy.”
