Bogus vs.

Credible Websites
Barb Kirk
Aluminum Foil Detector Beanie:
This site to me is not a credible resource. Although it could be convincing to some students
because of its depth of information, many of its links are broken and it was last updated over nine years
ago. Also when you look into the author, Lyle Zapato, his background and credibility begin to fall apart as
his degree and university do not exist.
Banana Guard:
Although I do believe this is an actual product, I do not believe that this site is an active credible
resource. It seems that it is an old site, with a copyright date of 2009, that is not being used. Although the
contact information does take you to a reliable wholesale retailer, some of the links to retail stores are
broken. The media buzz page only shows pictures of articles that cannot be read, the product page has
multiple errors in the text, and the buy now button does not work. Since there are so many errors on the
site, I think students would not trust this site.
Boilerplate: The Victorian Era Robot
This web page is a part of a larger and very creative website by writer Anina Bennett and
multimedia artist Paul Guinan. Although the site appears to be fictitious and difficult to find a credible
author, the link to the original site identifies Paul Guinan as a credible contact with the home page being
updated last in 2014. All of the links in the site seem to work well and the historical information is
accurate as illustrated through the adventures of 'Boilerplate'. I believe this is a credible resource for the
marketing of the book Boilerplate, but students might have a hard time seeing this.
Candy USA
Although students might be thrown by the title this link leads you to, that 'Most Believe Candy is
Part of Healthy Diet', this website seems very credible to me. The NCA is a credible association and the
website is up-to-date with the copyright of 2016. The contact information is diverse, the links work well,
and the resources uphold the mission of the NCA.
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division
This site is absolutely a bogus site, as dihydrogen monoxide is really water. This spoof can be
somewhat convincing, and might confuse students, as there is a lot of detailed information to support
DHMO, but taking a closer look shows that the supportive links actually are part of the same website and
therefore do not hold credibility. Also it is misleading that the domain is a .org, but after looking closer at
the author's bio, this site can clearly be identified as a satire.
Drivers License Search.com
Funny, but clearly bogus! After typing in my information, this site showed me a picture of a
monkey and identified the purpose as a joke. There is not a copyright date or author for the site. Also, The
National Motor Vehicle License Organization does not seem to exist. Thankfully there is a privacy policy
that holds true to not use personal information for an ulterior motive.

Furnetics Solution
Although this site appears very professional at first glance, it clearly should raise a lot of red flags
in the minds of students. What this site says the company can do is unrealistic. The links on the site only
take you deeper into the site without any credible proof of accuracy. Also after looking into the company
and author of the site, there is not credible witness that they exist. This site is absolutely bogus.
GolfCross
The idea of a game called GolfCross might seem outlandish to students, but after looking closer at
the site it seems to be a credible resource. The site is well made with links that work, accurate contact
information, and credible locations where GolfCross is played. The creator of GolfCross is very real and
well known as a writer and inventor. Part of the difficulty in identifying this site as a credible source is
that GolfCross is played overseas and many websites that verify the game are in foreign languages. It was
difficult to track down the site design company Catch22, but I did find that it was a credible business at
one time.
The Ova Prima Foundation
There are a number of things that might be misleading to students on this site, including a current
date at the top of each page, scientific words, real names of people, and a domain name with .org. When
you look closer into the names of people, their descriptions do not line up with what the site says about
them and therefore the credibility begins to fall apart. Also the web design company does not seem to exist
and no further information can be found about Dr. Joel David Forsyte. This is not a credible website.
Study of Holocaust Revisionism
This site might appear to be bogus to students, as there is nothing fancy to this site and the author's
ideas are a little radical. Through deeper investigating though, this site does seem to be credible for those
that truly believe the holocaust did not happen. The author Arthur R. Butz was a professor at Northwestern
University and his study of Holocaust Revisionism has been published. The Daily Northwestern was also
a newspaper at Northwestern University. Although the home page button does not work, other links on the
page do work well and the information has accurate references.
Yoga Kitty
Although well made, the intent of this site can be misleading. Students could easily get caught up
in the humor of the videos and the functionality of the site. Looking deeper into the credibility, the authors
are professional artists, but their goal in creating this site and the videos is to advertise their abilities. All
of the links work well and you can actually purchase YogaKitty mouse pads and mugs, but this site is not
intended as a credible resource for cat lovers.
Kathy Schrock's Critical Evaluation of a Web Site Middle School Level was used to evaluate these web
sites.
Schrock, K. (2012, April 1). Critical Evaluation - Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything.
Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/critical-evaluation.html