Reader Beware
How to determine if what you're reading online is information from a legitimate and reliable information or news provider.
Many people think it's a waste of time to acquire news online.
They assume that all websites are liars and live by the warning "reader beware."
Learning if that tempting link enticing you to click for further information is actually a valid, reliable, trustworthy information provider, is a fairly simple process.
You can do this by holding your mouse pointer over the linking text, and then divert your look to the bottom left hand corner of your browser window, which SHOULD display the URL of the link.
If the top doman level is CNN, TIME, CBS, ABC, as in CNN.com, MSNBC.com, Reuters, AP (Associated Press), etc., then you can be reasonably assured that this is a legitimate story.
However, it is also possible and indeed likely in many cases, that opinion based stories will be slanted to support the views of the company that owns the somewhat reliable top level domain, especially where political view talking points are involved, so...
But if you're looking for coverage on the recent earthquake in South America (for instance), than any of the well known media companies should suffice.
Interestingly, recent research indicates that nearly half of adults in the United States (using the internet), get most of their news from Facebook and other social media sites.
I am one of those people and I am pleasantly surprised to learn that I am not alone.
FB is the place that gives me a tidbit of news so I can further investigate the happenings of the day, using reliable and newsworthy websites such as Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC, TIME, Weather Channel, and even local TV stations online.
I have posted some links and a graph on my FaceBook page,
which you can access here:
Happy hunting and discerning!
Give new meaning to Reader Beware!
Many people think it's a waste of time to acquire news online.
They assume that all websites are liars and live by the warning "reader beware."
What a shame.
Learning if that tempting link enticing you to click for further information is actually a valid, reliable, trustworthy information provider, is a fairly simple process.
- To verify a legitimate news provider, all one has to do is simply look at the URL of the link to the "rest of the story."
You can do this by holding your mouse pointer over the linking text, and then divert your look to the bottom left hand corner of your browser window, which SHOULD display the URL of the link.
If the top doman level is CNN, TIME, CBS, ABC, as in CNN.com, MSNBC.com, Reuters, AP (Associated Press), etc., then you can be reasonably assured that this is a legitimate story.
However, it is also possible and indeed likely in many cases, that opinion based stories will be slanted to support the views of the company that owns the somewhat reliable top level domain, especially where political view talking points are involved, so...
READER BEWARE.
| News worthy on the web |
( I looked for a more comprehensive image collage of news sites, but nearly all of them included Fox News. Since I have personally caught them (FOX) in so many lies and exaggerations, I simply refuse to refer to them as a valid news site. Shame on them!)
Interestingly, recent research indicates that nearly half of adults in the United States (using the internet), get most of their news from Facebook and other social media sites.
I am one of those people and I am pleasantly surprised to learn that I am not alone.
FB is the place that gives me a tidbit of news so I can further investigate the happenings of the day, using reliable and newsworthy websites such as Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC, TIME, Weather Channel, and even local TV stations online.
I have posted some links and a graph on my FaceBook page,
which you can access here:
Happy hunting and discerning!
Give new meaning to Reader Beware!
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