PROJECT 1:
A WEBSITE OF MISINFORMATION
CSE100/INFO100 Fluency with
Information Technology
Autumn 2001
What does it mean to have “photographic proof” of an event? Twenty years ago, photographs were taken at
face value. A photograph could serve as
evidence for what it pictured: certain people or things had been in a
particular place, together, at a particular time, doing particular
activities.
What does it mean to publish valid and authentic papers? For many, many years well-established
publishing houses – for books, research journals, government documents, and
magazines – have used well-established criteria for validating and
authenticating the materials they print.
A publishing house imprint carried meaning about the level and rigor of
review for the content – with some imprints conveying greater rigor (e.g., The
MIT Press) than others (e.g., The National Inquirer).
This world of twenty or more years ago, while far from being perfect, did
have the benefits of being able to validate content at a glance. That’s the upside. The downside was the barriers to
publication. If your ideas were not
“accepted” or “validated” by the various review boards, your options for
publication and dissemination could be limited.
A case in point: Albert Einstein’s original paper on relativity was
turned down by numerous scientific and mathematical journals.
Enter the Digital Age, the Internet and the World Wide Web. This technology provides unprecedented opportunities for self-publishing and freedom of expression. If Einstein was alive today, he could post his findings on relativity on a Web site and his ideas would instantly be available to billions of individuals across the globe. That’s the upside. But, with unchecked self-publishing comes the downside of content that has never been edited to check for authenticity, for completeness, etc. How is the typical user who down loads a page from the Web to distinguish between the careful considerations of a scientist like Einstein and those of an amateur science fiction writer? Or if the user is looking for travel information or stock recommendations or whatever you wish to fill in here, how is the user to know that information is current, accurate, and complete? With the advent of digital images that can be easily manipulated (and as you will experience in lab first hand next week), even photographs that previously might have served as “supporting evidence” are called into question.
In the world we live in today, where the opportunities for self-expression
are seemingly endless, how do we discriminate between truth and fiction? Information and misinformation? What are the ethical limits on how content
should be manipulated? Project 1 is
designed to help you experience first hand the issues surrounding authenticity
and self-expression. Remember that on
the Web, the motivation for publishing misinformation does not always have to
be intentional misdirection. Many, many
sites contain inaccurate information that is published with the best intentions.
In this project, your challenge is to create a Web site of
“misinformation” that appears as authentic as possible to the user. That is, while the content of your Web site
will be questionable, everything else about your Web site should convey the opposite. An overview of the project is a follows:
(1)
Locate a
digital photograph from an online or other source (you can take your own
digital picture if you have access to a digital camera).
(2)
Using Adobe
Photoshop, modify that photograph in a subtle but significant way.
(3)
Create some
text to support your modified image.
(4)
Put your text
and image together on a Web site that appears as authentic as possible.
(5)
Test your Web
site with at least two individuals to see how successful you are at conveying
the authenticity of your “fictional” content.
·
To design and
implement a Web site using HTML
·
To manipulate a
photograph in Adobe Photoshop
·
To experience first
hand the ease with which “misinformation” can be made available online
·
To become aware of and
systematically explore the “cues” that users may use to assess the content of a
Web site
·
To conduct user
testing to evaluate your Web site
·
To reflect on the
challenges for misinformation online
· pan dir=LTR>Ultimately, to become
an appropriately cautious user of online information
Images and other files and content on the Internet
are protected in the same way as print materials and photographs. Use of digital images for purposes of
alteration and display on the Internet has limited coverage under the
conditions of fair use: See the Four
Factor Fair Use test at: [http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/copypol2.htm].
Public Domain items are those in which the
copyright has been lost, has expired, or the author of the work makes no
copyright claims to reproductions or enhancements of the work. Photographs taken by Federal Workers and
posted on Federal Government sites are public domain. Photographs posted on City, County, and State
sites have varying copyright policies but tend to fall in line with Federal
copyright guidelines. ALWAYS note the
copyright policy of ANY site you visit, regardless of its status as a
commercial, non-profit, government, or educational site.
If you use an image of a person for reasons of
making a profit, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the person
or their heirs. If you use a trademark
image, you must also get permission.
It is valuable to work with a friend or
classmate when learning a new application or working out a problem. However,
the work that you perform in FIT100 for a grade must be your own work unless
"working in groups" is explicitly allowed. The Projects involved in FIT 100 are NOT
intended to be group projects. It is OK
to run ideas and scenarios past your friends or classmates, but the solution
you create should be based on what is inside your own head.
You may choose any content area for your Web site as long as it is in
good taste and permits comfortable viewing by everyone in the course. If you’re unsure about the “tastefulness” of
a particular content, it is probably a good idea to choose something else. Here are some possible ideas:
Assignment 1 provides some suggestions for searching for public domain
images online.
At a minimum, your Web site should contain
the following:
Details
1. Using the
Photoshop skills you learned in Lab 4/5, modify the image(s) as described in Part
1.
2. Make a copy
of the file(s) used for part 1. Rename
it to indicate it is a part of Part 2.
3.
On the copy of your Web site of Misinformation file,
replace the original image with the modified one. In addition, remove the text
describing the “true” context of the image.
4.
Using the more advanced HTML skills you developed in
Lab 5, continue to refine your Web site of Misinformation as follows:
a.
Write a second paragraph continuing to reinforce the
authenticity of your modified image.
Edit your text to increase the “credibility” of the site.
b.
Reflect on how you evaluate a Web site and include
some of those features in your Web site.
For example, consider how you can use fonts, colors, spelling and
grammar, presentation, textual content, and vocabulary to further enhance the
“credibility” of your image.
c.
Add a mailto link to your email address.
5.
Create a separate Web page in which you reflect on
the problem of misinformation.
a.
On this “disclaimer” page, provide a disclaimer for
the quality of information on your Misinformation Web site.
b.
Provide a second 1 - 2 paragraph discussion of the
ethical issues concerned with conveying the accuracy, completeness and validity
of the information you are presenting.
c.
Create a link from your Web site of misinformation
to this page; and a link from this page (the disclaimer page) back to your Web
site of misinformation.
Testing
your website:
6. How
effective is your Web site of misinformation?
a. Create
a copy of your part 2 Web site. On this
copy, remove the misinformation title, the “bogus” logo, and the link to the
disclaimer page. That way, this page
will not have any “hints” about the misinformation. Link this test page to your disclaimer page
only.
b.
Show
this version of your Web site to 2 individuals.
Have each person rate your Web site according to the evaluation criteria
– of source, currency, verifiability, and so forth – you used in Assignment 2.
c.
Write up your results of the 2 individuals
evaluation criteria on your disclaimer page.
Place it after your discussion of the ethical issues.
d.
Write a final paragraph on your disclaimer page
discussing how effective your Web site was at establishing the credibility of
misinformation.
You will turn in paper
copy that includes the following:
(1) At
the top of your document please state your:
a. Name
b. Section
Number (AA, AB, etc)
c. Project
Number
d. Email
Address
e. Student
ID
f. The
URL of your Website of Misinformation.
·
DO NOT turn in a path
to the A: or C: drive of a lab or home computer. If your site is not on your student space on
Dante in the public_html folder, it cannot be graded!!!!!
(2) The
HTML code used for the pages (copy and paste it into Word from the Notepad file
or from the Source code of your Web page)
Projects must be
submitted to the Information School Student Services Office (MGH 470) by the
deadline times noted above. At the
deadline, papers will be collected. Late
projects will not be accepted. Email of
assignments will not be accepted either.
If you are using
a freebie for Part 1 (which is due on a Friday), then email the URL for your
site to your TA within 24 hours of the original deadline. Turn in the paper copy at the next class
lecture.
