Moving the green agenda forward is difficult enough without misinformation clouding issues. Fortunately there are organizations like Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).
Full Frontal Scrutiny is a new joint project between these two organizations that aims to shine a light on front groups — organizations that state a particular agenda, while hiding or obscuring their identity, membership or sponsorship, or all three. Google “front groups” and you’ll find CMD’s SourceWatch site at the top of the list.
CMD Research Director Sheldon Rampton summed the project up like this:
“Full Frontal Scrutiny will be like no other site on the Web. Fakers, phonies and front groups beware — you will be exposed.”
“For six years, Consumer Reports WebWatch has evaluated sites against five simple guidelines for credibility and trustworthiness,” said Beau Brendler, WebWatch’s director.
- Who owns the site?
- What’s its purpose and mission?
- Does it disclose sources of funding or key relationships with third parties?
These are important questions for consumers to ask about any Web site, and they’re also remarkably effective for ferreting out sites that intend to spin, obfuscate or dress up an unpopular agenda.”
Yes!