Web Bias

My primary realization from this week’s activity is that the Web is quickly moving to a battleground of truth versus truth. Arguments can easily be fought by quoting one source against another. While there are methods to validate the authenticity of data, they can be spoofed, obfuscated, and tailored to a message. Everyone is seeking to prove that his or her viewpoint is the “truth.”

One of the primary problems in determining authenticity is in the definition of truth itself. I framed my realization as truth versus truth because people arrive at what they believe to be the truth in different ways. Some people use academic methods, religious faith, scientific methods, or social confirmation of their beliefs.

Unbiased truth: pi = 3.1415

Truth is one of those words that seems to evoke both emotion and a clear meaning to most people. However, actually defining this word is difficult. The very nature of the concept of what is right or correct is shaped by one’s belief system, education, experience, and culture. Wikipedia has more then ten definitions of the concept of Truth (Read). It is clear that the concept and definition of truth is complex. This complexity expands as the question or topic expands and contains multiple dimensions leading to the introduction of biases. Thus, most truths are biased in some way.

Biased truth: just about everything else.

The reading material this week included several sources to teach us how to detect bias in information found on the Internet. These techniques appear sound, but they are time consuming and can only really prove authenticity to a point. For example, the John’s Hopkins page on Evaluating Information Found on the Internet readily admits that all information is told with a point of view or with a point to prove. Perhaps all we are really doing with most authentication exercises is to try and show some formality and peer acceptance of the information.

Truth for Sale
I had an idea during the readings for starting a new web business called ProveMyPoint.com. Users could log in and pay a modest fee to have a pdf paper, web page, or multimedia file created proving whatever viewpoint they want. There would be legitimate sources quoted, statistics, tables, etc. proving this point. It would come certified and from a neutral third party, so it would always be “truthful.”

In many ways, I believe the Internet has already become the company I just described. There are, of course, varying degrees of authenticity. Unfortunately, the methods described by our work this week (especially Virtual Chase), require time and, more importantly, desire of those consuming the information to determine its authenticity. All of these factors complicate the search for truth in media.