Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Jones and I'm really pleased you're here to learn with me today.

Today's lesson is called "The credibility of sources" and we're going to be looking at the importance of analysing any online sources and how to evaluate online sources.

So let's get started.

Welcome to today's lesson, "The credibility of sources" from the unit "Using media to gain support for a cause." By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to evaluate the credibility of online sources to help you with your own work.

There are two keywords for today's lesson.

The first one is source, where information comes from, such as from a website, a book, a person, or any other place where information is found.

And credibility, how trustworthy or believable a source of information is.

A credible source is one that is reliable and accurate.

There are two sections to today's lesson.

The first is "Explain the importance of analysing online content" and the second is "Evaluate the credibility of online sources." So let's get started with "Explain the importance of analysing online content." Aisha is asking, "Who can create web pages?" And the answer is anyone who wants to create a web page can do so.

Websites are made up of multiple web pages, and these websites can have different purposes and different web pages can have different purposes.

It could be that they're there to inform you.

And that could be telling you news stories, keeping you up to date on company information.

There could be shops, online shopping, pages where they are going to try and sell you something.

Or it could be to entertain you, and this could be something like a TV streaming platform.

So different web pages can have different purposes, but anyone can create a web page, and that can be individuals or companies.

And Aisha is asking, "Who can add information to web pages?" And the answer is anyone who has the permission to do so.

For example, anyone can contribute to Wikipedia.

Some websites have set permissions and you can access that through a username and a password to update and add content to web pages.

Other websites, like Wikipedia, mean that anyone can add information to it.

Aisha is asking, "What does this mean for the trustworthiness of information you find online?" Not all information comes from a trustworthy source.

Remember, if we are looking if something is trustworthy, we have to ask ourselves, do we trust the source? Do we trust where this information is coming from? So let's have a quick check, true or false? Anyone can add information to any web page.

Pause the video, consider your answer.

Is that true or false? And then we'll go through the answer.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was false.

And the reason for that is while some websites, like Wikipedia, allow anyone to add information, most web pages require permissions to add or edit information.

Well done if you got that correct.

Aisha is going on to ask, "So there are many reasons to analyse online content." And the answer there is online content is easily accessible but not always reliable.

False or misleading information can spread quickly.

Understanding how to evaluate sources helps make informed decisions and protects against misinformation and bias.

Misinformation is where false information has been passed along through the news source or source of information, and this can lead to false information being shared across other sources, and that's called misinformation.

Bias is where someone's opinions or beliefs come across within the news story, whether that is promoting something or against something.

Sometimes people have a bias against it and then that comes through the news source.

Let's have a quick check.

Why is it important to learn how to evaluate online sources? Is it A, to protect against misinformation and bias; B, to increase the speed of internet downloads; or C, to ensure that all online content is free? Pause the video to consider your answer and then we'll check it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was A, to protect against misinformation and bias.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's have a look at a news story and let's look if we can decide if it is a real news story.

15 sheep have been registered at a French primary school as part of a novel bid to save classes at risk of closure.

Jules-Ferry in Crets en Belledonne, a small town of less than 4,000 people at the foot of the Alps, had been told that it would have to scale back its lessons because of falling pupil numbers.

Consider if you think that is a true or false news story.

Let's have a look.

The news story is real, and how can we tell if it was real? Well, the news story has been written and published on a trustworthy news outlet website.

It is actually a real school, and other news websites also reported the same story.

By looking at these things we can find out if it is a real story.

So let's do an activity.

You'll need your worksheet.

And there are two parts to this activity.

One, explain why it is important to carefully analyse information you find online.

And two, give three reasons why online content might not always be reliable.

Pause the video, go back through the slides, and answer your questions using the worksheet, and then we'll go through the answers.

Let's check your answers.

The first part was explain why it is important to carefully analyse information you find online.

And the answer is not all information comes from a trustworthy source, and false or misleading information can spread quickly.

Analysing online content helps you make good decisions and protects you against misinformation and bias.

The second part was give three reasons why online content might not always be reliable, and the answer is anyone can publish, so information may be published by someone who isn't an expert or who might be biassed.

Information can be edited.

Even on seemingly trustworthy websites, information may not be accurate, like on Wikipedia, for example.

And misinformation spreads easily and is difficult to control.

False information can spread rapidly before it can be corrected.

Well done if you got those two questions correct.

Let's move on to the second part of today's lesson, "Evaluate the credibility of online sources." Lucas is asking, "What does credibility mean when evaluating online sources?" It means how trustworthy and reliable a source of information is.

And Lucas asks, "How do I evaluate how trustworthy and reliable an online source is?" And there are some ways that we can do this.

We can look at who is the author.

Is the author of the article or blog or news story, whatever source it is, are they an expert in the field? What is the purpose of the source? Is it content that's meant to inform us, to persuade us, or to entertain us? Because the purpose will drive whether it's trustworthy or not.

When was it published? It's important to look at when the date on the article or source of information is to see if it's something we can trust.

We don't want to be looking at something that is really old and there's new information that we can trust that's more up to date.

We can also look at where was the information published.

Is the actual website reputable or a recognised website? Can we verify the source? Are claims backed up by other sources? So remember, can we look on other websites, other reputable sources, and see the same things? Let's have a quick check.

True or false? Credibility when evaluating online sources means how trustworthy and reliable a source of information is.

Pause the video to consider your answer of whether that is true or false, and then we'll go through the answer.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was true.

Credibility directly relates to the trustworthiness and reliability of an information source.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's have a look at this article on the right.

This comment here, "My study found that people who live in Western Australia are twice as happy as those who live in Eastern Australia." And that was written by Professor Bruce from the University of East Broughton.

So to evaluate the credibility of this source, we need to check the author and the source.

There is no university called the University of East Broughton, so this is not a credible source of information, which makes their comment not credible.

Let's have a look at this next one.

"Computer programmers have found the secret to the National Lottery and want you to know how to win every time.

Enter your email address below and we will send you more details." So let's evaluate the credibility of this source.

Check the purpose of the source.

What was the purpose of that source? It was asking for personal information and that should alert us to the fact that it is more likely to be false, because nobody should be asking for personal information.

So that is not a credible source.

Let's have a look at this one.

"A public survey suggests that 90% of people believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth." Philolaus, 390 BC.

So let's have a look at the credibility of this source and let's check when the article was written.

The source is from 390 BC.

Is this still relevant? It's a little bit out of our date now, so it becomes out of date information.

A lot of new things and more up-to-date sources of information would now be credible, so this is not a credible source of information.

Let's have a look at this one.

"15 sheep have been registered at a French primary school." So let's evaluate the credibility of this source.

We need to check the facts.

There's some facts in there and we need to check whether that is true.

And we need to search the internet to try to verify if those facts are true, and that was the one we looked at earlier, that there was indeed 15 sheep registered at a French primary school.

So it is a credible source because, if you remember, it was reported on other news websites, which makes it a credible source.

Let's have a quick check.

Which of the following is most important when evaluating the credibility of an online source? Is it A, verifying the author and source; B, seeing if the website has a large number of social media followers; or C, ensuring the website has a visually appealing design? Pause the video and use the slides to consider your answer, and then we'll check it.

Let's check your answer.

The answer was A, verifying the author and the source.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's have a look at an activity.

You'll need your worksheet.

"In a stunning development that has sent shock waves through the medical community, researchers at the newly established Alderbrook Institute of Advanced Medicine have announced the discovery of a revolutionary Wonder Elixir capable of eliminating the common cold within hours." Read through that extract from an online blog post.

Explain four key steps you could take to evaluate the credibility of this article and determine if the information is trustworthy.

Pause the video, use your worksheet, and then we'll go through the answer.

Let's check your answer.

So when we look at that source, we need to check the author and the source.

I would try to find out information about the Alderbrook Institute of Advanced Medicine.

Is that a real institute? Check the purpose of the source.

The phrase, "Stunning development that has sent shock waves." This suggests it's trying to create excitement or shock rather than just give facts.

Check when the article was written.

The extract doesn't have a date, so can we find a date? Check the facts.

I would search the internet for other sources reporting this Wonder Elixir discovery.

Well done if you got that correct.

In summary, it's important to analyse digital content for credibility before using it in your own work.

To evaluate the credibility of an online source, you should check the author, the source itself, the purpose of the content, when it was published, and the facts presented.

By using these techniques, you can ensure that the sources you use are reliable and trustworthy.

Well done for completing this lesson, "The credibility of sources." I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson, and I hope to see you on the next lesson.