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Definition of Terms

GOOD/POOR EXAMPLE
Pages that don’t load, video pages, image page, landing pages, or commerce pages.  

Pages protected by a paywall (subscription or registration).
Pages that don’t clearly fit into one of the four categories (news/not news, credible/not credible).

NEWS 

These pages contain articles presented as news (covering current events). It has the purpose of conveying information, NOT opinion or analysis. This deals with reporting or presenting information and facts about a timely or current event. “News” articles refer to a chronology or sequence of events or comments.

 

News can cover a variety of topics, including politics, entertainment, sports, weather. These pages adhere to journalistic standards such as objective writing and the use of multiple sources.

NOT NEWS
These pages contain content that is not presented as news. 

 

For instance, lists of information, recipes, analyses or opinions, satire pieces, wiki entries, are all examples of “not news.”

 

News analysis, opinion, advice, perspective or other types of synthesis of recent events are not news.  Likewise for profiles, features or gossip about a person in the news.

Note: Evaluators should only evaluate the content that is presented on the page by scrolling.  If a page has a button to reveal more information, that should not be clicked.  On pages that have infinite load, the evaluator should scroll and evaluate no more than 10 screens of content.

CREDIBLE 

These pages contain content that seems credible because of the presence of linguistic characteristics that make them seem credible or that are generally seen on credible pages. They are not necessarily fact-checked. You will notice that these sound less emotional and more objective and balanced. The writing style on credible pages is more professional sounding. 

 

Tends to include: 

  • Fair, balanced account of a topic

  • Lacks emotion; refrains from appealing to emotion

  • Well-written or professional writing (grammar, spelling, etc.)

  • Information is sourced (not anonymous)

  • Presents reliable evidence and uses it logically

Attempts to be complete or comprehensive

NOT CREDIBLE
These pages contain content that does not seem credible. They may present an extreme bias or other kinds of content may be extremely subjective. These pages may not be well-written or well-sourced. 

You may also notice that these pages use slang, profanity, obscenity, name-calling, and words in all capital letters.

 

May include one or more:

  • Demonstrates strong or extreme bias

  • Uses selective information to support biased claims 

  • Strong emotional speech

  • Derogatory or demeaning comments

  • Baseless or sourceless claims or assertions

  • Contains conjecture, baseless accusations

Presents fabricated information

Note: Determine Credibility based on an examination of the page content and the linguistic properties of the text.  Do not rely on the Source or Publication reputation for Credible evaluation.

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