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# System prepended metadata

title: Web Search and Evaluation

---

# Web Search and Evaluation
## Google Search
#### Northeastern University
In order to see how many web pages on the English Wikipedia include "Northeastern University," I queried the following:

**["Northeastern University" site:en.wikipedia.org](https://www.google.com/search?as_q=&as_epq=Northeastern+University&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=en.wikipedia.org&as_occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&tbs=)**

My search gave me 5,090 results. 
</br>
#### Skate Fish Without Ice Rink
In order to see web pages about skate fish without the words "ice rink," I queried the following:

**[skate fish -"ice rink"](https://www.google.com/search?q=skate+fish+-%22ice+rink%22&sxsrf=APq-WBv5-pV7C_LdjnB-uBvEyd2-UfmAQg%3A1643605493184&source=hp&ei=9W33YeroB8uIytMP_8iN4A8&iflsig=AHkkrS4AAAAAYfd8Bec6kGwa9NxIeXG0jtLWA3Fd5G57&ved=0ahUKEwiqt8bMm9v1AhVLhHIEHX9kA_wQ4dUDCAk&uact=5&oq=skate+fish+-%22ice+rink%22&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BAgjECc6BAguEEM6BAgAEEM6CwguEIAEELEDEIMBOgoIABCxAxCDARBDOgoIABCABBCHAhAUOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARDRAzoNCAAQsQMQgwEQyQMQQzoFCAAQkgM6CAgAEIAEELEDOgcIABDJAxBDOgcILhCxAxBDOg0ILhCABBCHAhCxAxAUOgUIABCRAjoFCAAQgAQ6CwguEIAEEMcBEK8BOgcILhCABBAKOggIABAWEAoQHjoFCAAQhgM6BggAEBYQHjoJCAAQyQMQFhAeUABYnR9g7iBoAXAAeACAAa8BiAGbEpIBBTEzLjEwmAEAoAEB&sclient=gws-wiz)**
</br>
#### Northeastern Huskies
In order to see web pages about the Northeastern huskies from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002, I queried the following:

**[Northeastern huskies](https://www.google.com/search?q=Northeastern+huskies&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F2001%2Ccd_max%3A12%2F31%2F2002&sxsrf=APq-WBs9yZSBJaPuqlL_OcGnQLUFVN6G-g%3A1643605602399&ei=Ym73Yf7cF6-V_QbxuabAAg&ved=0ahUKEwj-ldOAnNv1AhWvSt8KHfGcCSgQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=Northeastern+huskies&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBAgjECcyBAguEEMyBQguEIAEMgUILhCABDIFCAAQgAQyBAguEEMyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEOgcIIxCwAxAnOgcIABCwAxBDOggIABCABBCwAzoKCAAQ5AIQsAMYADoMCC4QyAMQsAMQQxgBOgcIIxCwAhAnOgQILhANOgQIABANSgQIQRgBSgQIRhgBUMICWPIEYO8GaAFwAHgAgAFgiAG3AZIBATKYAQCgAQHIARPAAQHaAQYIABABGAnaAQYIARABGAg&sclient=gws-wiz)**
</br>
#### Top Image of Penguin Pair

![penguin pair](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51051119088_f8e1bedc81_b.jpg)

I queried  **["penguin pair."](https://www.google.com/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&as_q=&as_epq=penguin+pair&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgsz=&imgar=&imgc=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=images&as_filetype=&tbs=sur%3Acl#imgrc=Ek1n4D9XOfRyDM)**
</br>
## Web credibility
In **[this article from Natural News](https://www.naturalnews.com/2022-01-30-scottish-data-covid-case-rate-highest-fully-vaccinated.html)**, Ethan Huff claims that vaccinated people are more likely to get COVID than unvaccinated people. However, the piece instantly has questionable credibility. According to Berkeley, it is important to evaluate the scholarly nature and bias of publications. Natural News is not an academic journal, and it is not peer-reviewed. Upon further research, it has a reputation of being a conservative outlet, as stories often reference other notorious right-wing publications like **[Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/)**.

Berkeley also states that documentation is key: sources need to be evaluated and facts cannot be cherry picked. Huff only links to two sources, one of which is **[a story from Natural News itself](https://naturalnews.com/2021-08-11-cdc-director-husband-took-millions-grants-pharmaceuticals.html)**. The other link is to **[an article from Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/horowitz-the-very-concerning-data-from-scotland)**, which is the bulk of Huff's argument. It states that vaccines are ineffective against COVID-19, and cites a Scottish study where those who were vaccinated had higher hospitalization rates than those that were unvaccinated. 

![graph](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E-9-4AeXIAw0YlI?format=jpg&name=900x900)

However, Huff cherry picked his information. Reuters, a news organization associated with the International Fact Checking Network, **[found that there were over three times the amount of COVID cases amongst unvaccinated individuals versus vaccinated individuals](https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-scotland-statistics/fact-check-graph-comparing-scottish-covid-19-hospitalisations-and-deaths-by-vaccination-status-lacks-key-information-idUSL1N2QQ24L)**, a fact Huff clearly ignored as it weakened his argument. In addition, there was a third underlying factor causing Huff to confuse correlation with causation. The vaccination rate in Scotland amongst those over the age of 50 is almost 100% according to Public Health Scotland. Older people are naturally more susceptible to diseases like COVID than younger people, who make up the bulk of the unvaccinated. Thus, the death rates will naturally be higher.

Valenza would define Huff's article as "fake news" because it is false information that deceives readers into believing that vaccines do not work. Since the article relies on "facts" rather than emotions, it could not be defined as post-truth. There was also no fact checking, and upon further research, **[NBC reported that](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/troll-farms-macedonia-philippines-pushed-coronavirus-disinformation-facebook-n1218376)** Natural News was banned on Facebook for being a content farm on COVID disinformation. By reading the Blaze Media article and finding the response from Reuters, I was able to triangulate the information and determine the accuracy of Huff's article. 
</br>
## Wikipedia evaluation
#### Joseph Reagle's Wikipedia Page
a) The source for Reagle's time at W3C links to his personal website, which is a self-published source. As **[Wikipedia's verifiability page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources)** explains, anyone can publish a site stating their experience or expertise. While this claim seems innocuous, people can easily falsify information about their previous jobs or experience with websites. A better source could be from a reliable third party, such as Joseph Reagle's current employer, **[ Northeastern University](https://camd.northeastern.edu/faculty/joseph-reagle/)**.

b) The editor for the Wikipedia page claims that Reagle's book *Good Faith Collaboration* was bestselling. This claim was not verified by its editor, as there is no source or proof of the book's popularity. A possible inline citation would have been to a New York Times bestselling list with *Good Faith Collaboration* on it, or any other data about the book's popularity from a trusted source.

#### When was **[Page History](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Page_history)** created?
September 20, 2004