I took a close look at the website http://www.justfacts.com/ and http://www.factcheck.org/ by utilizing the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose). Overall, I thought both websites were very informative and appeared to be as unbiased as possible when discussing political and public policy issues. Here is what I thought when evaluating these two websites:
Currency: This is a very current website because most of the material has been revised within the last year and many links that have been update in 2016. It has been around as a website since 1997. All of the links to various topics have the initial posted date, as well as the latest revision date.
Relevance: I think the material is relevant to many adults Americans. It covers topics such as social security, taxes, and education. The information is clear and concise. I like the website design because the links to various subjects and sub-headings makes it easy to navigate.
Authority: The URL matches the content of the website. They are a non-profit organization that appears to get their funding through donations. In the “about us” tab, there is information and credentials about the President/Primary researcher, the chairman, and a general description about the organizations goal of displaying objective information to the public. Their address is posted on the website and you are able to send them feedback or questions through the “contact us” link.
Accuracy: The layout of the website is very professional and the content appears to be genuinely objective. All of the articles have footnotes with citations and links. The research seems relevant and up to date. By having the date for last revision for all subheadings helps the reader to know how current some of the information is. They state that the material only comes from primary sources. This prevents misrepresentation of the original sources intent.
Purpose: This organization gives their mission statement in the “about us” section. Their goal is to provide unbiased information about public policy issues to the general public. It is clear that they want to provide the public with facts and not opinions to help inform society on important issues in our society. There is no advertising or popups displayed on the website, which helps to support their mission statement.
Currency: This website stays very current with the articles that they post. Almost daily there are a few new articles posted with the date it was posted at the top of the article. The website has been around since 2003 and has won several awards dating back to 2008.
Relevance: The information provided is very relevant to voters. The articles cover a wide variety of subject areas and presidential candidates. It is a great website to find informative articles on candidates and issues for upcoming elections.
Authority: The information posted on this website gathered by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. There are bio write-ups of the staff that describing their credentials and experience. The URL matches the content of the website.
Accuracy: The articles appear to be unbiased and meet the intent of providing just the facts on current political issues and language that does not seem to favor one political party or the other. The credentials of the staff journalists are very impressive and indicate great knowledge for the website content. They’ve won a wide variety of awards, which shows their level of consistency throughout their existence.
Purpose: The creators of the website want to get accurate and unbiased information to the general public on political matters. Their goal is to educate voters for upcoming elections. I don’t see any indication of favor to one political party or the other. There is no advertising that would promote an interest different than the claimed mission statement.