.org Doesn't Mean Credible

January 01, 2018

A screenshot of a website. In the screenshot there is a shooting star with the words 'the more your know' in its tail.

https://www.dotorgdoesntmeancredible.org/

Many textbooks, online research guides, and other resources claim that a .org domain name is an indicator of credibility. The common explanation is that only non-profits, professional associations, and other organizations are able to register a .org domain name. One of the course objectives for SPCM 200 (Public Speaking) at CSU was to develop research skills, including practice evaluating the credibility of web sources. To that end, I wanted to teach students that there are rarely hard and fast rules to immediately assess a website – such as looking at the URL. Instead, they should expect to think critically about the web page and its content. To demonstrate this point, I purchased a domain name and created this simple website.