A key skill for journalists in an Internet age is knowing how to evaluate online news sources. This was part of the focus of this week’s class in multiplatform journalism at the UBC School of Journalism.

There are five criteria to consider:

• Authority: Who created the site, why, and what are their credentials? Who published it and why? Do they have any affiliations?
• Objectivity: Does the site express any opinions or biases? Does the site have a sponsor who might influence the content? Is it trying to advertise a service or product? Could it be a hoax or satire?
• Timeliness: When was the site created or last updated?
• Sourcing: What are the sources cited for the content and are they reliable?
• Verification: Can the information be verified by at least one other source, preferably not online?

The Virtual Chase, a research learning site aimed at legal professionals, offers a handy one-page guide with examples.

A powerful online tool to find out who is behind a site is the Whois registration information of a web domain. There are many Whois services to choose from, but I recommend DomainTools as it provides the registration information as well as a host of other data related to the website.

If you have other ways of unmasking the owners behind a website, please add a comment.