Biasquest - Where's the Beef?
Now that we can see that some websites are not always what they
first appear to be, its time to look at some real websites that try to
persuade you that their opinion is the correct opinion. These are all real
websites, but are much like the first ones you looked at in Task One they
have an ulterior purpose. (Remember, ulterior means hidden and maybe a
little sneaky.)
The authors of these websites have a bias. A bias is a strongly held
opinion. Heres an example; somebody who plays hockey all the time has a
bias towards hockey. Thats not bad, but it does shape their opinion about
hockey. (There are cases when a bias can cause problems. For example, if
somebody has a bias against a group of people because of the color of their
skin or because of their religion, that bias can result in saying or doing
hurtful things to people who the person is biased against.)
Here are some questions for you to think about and discuss with your
classmates:
Why would we want to know somebodys bias?
Is it OK to be biased?
If somebody is biased, can you still believe what they write?
Process
1. Discuss the questions about bias (above) with your class.
2. Examine both of the websites given here with your partner. Both
have to do the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which may be used
as an area to drill for oil.
Are these websites biased?
Alaska National Wildlife Refuge Website
http://www.anwr.org/
Defenders of Wildlife Website about Alaska National Wildlife Refuge
http://www.savearcticrefuge.org/learnmore.html
Other Tasks
3. Select one of these websites and use the How to Evaluate a Website
Survey Sheet to help you determine if the website is biased or not.
4. Discuss your findings with the class. Be prepared with evidence
from the website to explain your decision.
5. Key question for discussion: Can you trust a website that's biased?
Can you trust any of the information? Aren't most websites biased in some
way? What does that mean for us as users of the internet?