What is a "hoax website"?
Hoax websites come in all shapes and sizes. Some are meant to be funny (e.g., a website advertising a new smart phone that can brew coffee) and will make you chuckle--or laugh out loud! Others look more serious (e.g., a website with medical information about "the first male pregnancy") and are meant to make you think--or challenge you to do some research and learn more about a particular topic.
What they all have in common is their intention to fool you--to make you believe, at least for one second, that you're looking at a "real" or "reliable" website.
Hoax websites come in all shapes and sizes. Some are meant to be funny (e.g., a website advertising a new smart phone that can brew coffee) and will make you chuckle--or laugh out loud! Others look more serious (e.g., a website with medical information about "the first male pregnancy") and are meant to make you think--or challenge you to do some research and learn more about a particular topic.
What they all have in common is their intention to fool you--to make you believe, at least for one second, that you're looking at a "real" or "reliable" website.
Why should we study hoax websites?
Hoax websites provide us with an opportunity to think, talk, and learn about two things: (a) how easy it is these days for just about anyone to create a website and publish information on the web, and (b) how important it is these days to be a critical, careful reader who asks questions ("Who wrote this? Why?"), double-checks facts, and does detective work while reading.
When we study a hoax website (whether it's a "funny" one or a "serious" one), we are in fact developing our skills in several important areas: careful observation (e.g., "When was this webpage created and when was it last updated?"), making inferences (e.g., "This page refers to people killing dinosaurs, but I know that dinosaurs were extinct long before humans appeared"), and research (e.g., "I'm going to search for newspaper articles about new smart phone technology").
Hoax websites provide us with an opportunity to think, talk, and learn about two things: (a) how easy it is these days for just about anyone to create a website and publish information on the web, and (b) how important it is these days to be a critical, careful reader who asks questions ("Who wrote this? Why?"), double-checks facts, and does detective work while reading.
When we study a hoax website (whether it's a "funny" one or a "serious" one), we are in fact developing our skills in several important areas: careful observation (e.g., "When was this webpage created and when was it last updated?"), making inferences (e.g., "This page refers to people killing dinosaurs, but I know that dinosaurs were extinct long before humans appeared"), and research (e.g., "I'm going to search for newspaper articles about new smart phone technology").
Why should we build our own hoax websites?
There is a lot you can learn from studying a hoax website, but when you build your own, you will likely learn even more. Building your own hoax website forces you to really pay attention to all sorts of little details--the kinds of details that can make a website seem believable and reliable.
When you build your own site, you will spend time thinking about colors and layout, how to photoshop images, and how to design a logo to make your site look "official." You will likely spend time doing research on your topic, and you will learn about writing text that blends accurate, true information with fake information you make up. All this thinking, inventing, and designing work will give you a much deeper understanding of the many ways websites can dupe gullible readers.
The result--hopefully--is that, in the future, you will be much less gullible and much less likely to be duped!
There is a lot you can learn from studying a hoax website, but when you build your own, you will likely learn even more. Building your own hoax website forces you to really pay attention to all sorts of little details--the kinds of details that can make a website seem believable and reliable.
When you build your own site, you will spend time thinking about colors and layout, how to photoshop images, and how to design a logo to make your site look "official." You will likely spend time doing research on your topic, and you will learn about writing text that blends accurate, true information with fake information you make up. All this thinking, inventing, and designing work will give you a much deeper understanding of the many ways websites can dupe gullible readers.
The result--hopefully--is that, in the future, you will be much less gullible and much less likely to be duped!
Where can I find other hoax websites?
The links listed below will take you to some great examples of hoax websites. As you explore each hoax website, ask yourself: "How can I tell that this site is a hoax? What elements does it have that make it appear to be a believable site? What clues tell me that it's a hoax?"
http://www.malepregnancy.com/
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
http://www.wemarket4u.net/fatfoe/
http://www.idiotica.com/cranium/encyclopedia/content/civilwar.htm
http://147.129.226.1/library/research/AIDSFACTS.htm
http://descy.50megs.com/descy/webcred/webcred/Fredericton.html
http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/intro.html
http://www.idiotica.com/cranium/encyclopedia/content/huckleberry_finn.htm
http://publish.uwo.ca/~floyd/false/false.htm
http://www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm
http://descy.50megs.com/descy/webcred/webcred/dhmo.html
http://www.brookview.karoo.net/Sellafield_Zoo/
http://www.fulkerson.org/ancestors/buyanancestor.html
http://www.idiotica.com/cranium/encyclopedia/content/mars.htm
http://www.pmichaud.com/toast/
http://zapatopi.net/bsa/
http://www.genochoice.com/
http://www.stephenswork.com/funkyshoes/goodkarma.html
http://www.dreamweaverstudios.com/moonbeam/moon.htm
http://descy.50megs.com/mankato/subyard.html
http://www.thedogisland.com/
http://www.pomegranatephone.com
http://monstersuniversity.com/edu/academics.html
The links listed below will take you to some great examples of hoax websites. As you explore each hoax website, ask yourself: "How can I tell that this site is a hoax? What elements does it have that make it appear to be a believable site? What clues tell me that it's a hoax?"
http://www.malepregnancy.com/
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
http://www.wemarket4u.net/fatfoe/
http://www.idiotica.com/cranium/encyclopedia/content/civilwar.htm
http://147.129.226.1/library/research/AIDSFACTS.htm
http://descy.50megs.com/descy/webcred/webcred/Fredericton.html
http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/intro.html
http://www.idiotica.com/cranium/encyclopedia/content/huckleberry_finn.htm
http://publish.uwo.ca/~floyd/false/false.htm
http://www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm
http://descy.50megs.com/descy/webcred/webcred/dhmo.html
http://www.brookview.karoo.net/Sellafield_Zoo/
http://www.fulkerson.org/ancestors/buyanancestor.html
http://www.idiotica.com/cranium/encyclopedia/content/mars.htm
http://www.pmichaud.com/toast/
http://zapatopi.net/bsa/
http://www.genochoice.com/
http://www.stephenswork.com/funkyshoes/goodkarma.html
http://www.dreamweaverstudios.com/moonbeam/moon.htm
http://descy.50megs.com/mankato/subyard.html
http://www.thedogisland.com/
http://www.pomegranatephone.com
http://monstersuniversity.com/edu/academics.html
Your Hoax Website "Seal of Approval"
When your hoax website is ready to publish, take a minute to add the "HWAA Seal of Approval." Place it somewhere on your homepage--maybe in the bottom-left or bottom-right corner.
HWAA stands for the "Hoax Website Association of America." This organization does not actually exist. The purpose of placing this "seal of approval" on your homepage is to give visitors to your site a heads-up that your site is a hoax. Of course, many visitors will not need to see this seal to realize that your site is a hoax. The seal (with the word "hoax" in it) is intended for visitors who have been duped and who need a little extra nudge to look again--and to read your website with a more careful, critical eye.
HWAA stands for the "Hoax Website Association of America." This organization does not actually exist. The purpose of placing this "seal of approval" on your homepage is to give visitors to your site a heads-up that your site is a hoax. Of course, many visitors will not need to see this seal to realize that your site is a hoax. The seal (with the word "hoax" in it) is intended for visitors who have been duped and who need a little extra nudge to look again--and to read your website with a more careful, critical eye.