Internet

In a middle school class this past week students were asked to determine how to rate information on the Internet. Some said if it says dot EDU or dot GOV it is probably true. I am not sure where that came from but it is best to use multiple sources. On the news today the subject was the tax cut and some government group said 80% of the people will receive a tax cut but since only 50% pay taxes, not possible. What they meant was that 80% of those who pay taxes will get a tax cut. Then they reported the results of a poll where only 20% of the people will get a tax cut but failed to mention that only 50% pay taxes. One of the most common ways of distorting information is to leave out part of the story. This is often referred to as taking out of context.