Misleading Content

What is misleading content?

With more than a trillion unique URLs (website addresses), the internet is a fantastic source of information – a huge library at your family’s fingertips.

But, because anyone can set up a website, create a blog or update a wiki, not all the information is fact and it can be misleading. Some people use the internet to promote extreme political opinions and to encourage dangerous behaviour, for example.

Watch this video from Teachers TV together so that your son or daughter understands what kind of websites might be misleading:

What do I need to know about misleading content?

Young people in particular might take everything they read on the internet at face value – they might find a website on a search engine and fail to assess the quality and accuracy of the information it contains. According to Ofcom, more than a quarter of 12-15 year olds who use search engines think that they only return results from websites with truthful information.

If they’re researching a school project, for example, their teacher might suggest useful factual websites but they might also search for other sites themselves. They might not understand that sites like Wikipedia are based on user-generated content – in other words, other internet users have uploaded the information. In some cases, they might come across harmless spoofs but they could also access misleading content that has serious implications.

Watch this short video about Wikipedia:

At the same time, they might turn to the Web to find information for their own personal use – for example, if they have a question about their health or wellbeing. Whilst lots of support organisations have excellent websites, there are also some misleading websites, such as those promoting eating disorders and self-harm. You can find more information about this in our health & wellbeing article.

As part of the National Curriculum, schools in the UK teach students how to check the validity of websites. But that doesn’t mean your son or daughter will always remember to do this, so it’s crucial that you also stress the importance of checking and validation when they’re online.

What can I do about misleading content?

  • Set up Parental Controls and Safe Search based on your child’s age and maturity – but remember, they might not be 100% effective and they aren’t a substitute for parental supervision
  • Explain to them that not all information on the internet is fact – some of it might be misleading
  • Encourage your child to analyse and be critical about what they find online
  • Draw up a list of suitable websites together, based on recommendations from friends, teachers and other trusted sources
  • Get your son or daughter to double-check whether the author of a website they have found is simply publishing their personal views:
    • Look at the website address – if it contains a tilde (~) or the word “users”, it’s likely to be someone’s personal home page
    • Use easyWhois to look up who owns the website
    • In a search engine, type in link, colon and the website address (eg link:http://www.vodafone.com) to check the links that lead to the website
    • Do a Google search on the author to see what other sites they’ve written
    • Find out when the site was last updated
  • Read our health & wellbeing article for guidance on bona fide online support organisations if your son or daughter has questions about their physical or emotional health

Where can I go for more information and support about misleading content?

  • Get advice and talk to other parents on Mumsnet
  • Parentline’s 24/7 helpline offers guidance on a wide range of parenting issues

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How old are your kids?

What you need to know to get started

  • 5-7 years old

    Technology is part of your child's life before they start primary school. They're probably using the computer, the internet and interactive TV for fun - watching programmes on the CBeebies channel and website or taking part in the Club Penguin chat rooms...but they still need adult guidance and supervision.

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  • 8-11 years old

    If you have 8-11 year old children, your house is probably full of technology - PlayStation, Nintendo, iPod...the list goes on. In fact, research shows that 8-11 year olds in the UK have an average of four media devices in their bedroom.

    This is a crucial age for young people to embrace new technologies and develop their ICT skills both at home and at school...and it's a crucial time for you to take control when they start exploring the digital world as well as the real world.

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  • 12-14 years old

    They're at secondary school and growing up fast. It's a time of change and their digital world might seem as important as the real world to them. They might spend their evenings on Bebo, Facebook or MySpace ; watching videos on YouTube and uploading their own for others to watch; or doing research for their homework.

    You want to encourage their technology and social skills, of course, so it's useful to understand what they're doing with technology and to get involved with it.

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  • 15+ years old

    Once your children are teenagers, it might be tempting to think that they're tech-savvy and dealing with everything the virtual world can throw at them. You probably watch in awe as they switch from chatting with friends on Facebook to updating their Twitter profile; playing against someone on the other side of the world on their games console to downloading music on their mobile.

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