Critical Review of WebsiteAnalyze content of

http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

Critical Review of Website

Analyze content of http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

WHOPersonal page or site? RYT Hospital – corporate site

Contact information No address, phone number or e-mail listed. Just message form to be submitted for information.

Author or publisher Non listed other than hospital

Organization credentials Simple web search for [RYT Hospital] lists several results that claim this site is a hoax

Bios or resumes No bios or resumes for medical professionals mentioned

Credibility of contributors Doctors listed do not appear in simple searches; the pharmaceutical company, Nevardis, and the medication, Rivitalex do not exist outside of site

Source: kathyschrock.net

Critical Review of WebsiteAnalyze content of http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

WHATType of domain .com

“About Us” section

Looks very credible at first glance but then lists several medical innovations that seem more like science fiction than medical science. These include male pregnancy; NanoDocs, nanotech robots which monitor a person’s body status in real-time while traveling through their blood and tissue; first transgenic mouse with human intelligence

Site navigation Site is very easy to navigate and slickly designed

Documented facts or opinions

There is a testimonial listed from a Broadway dancer who claims she was performing again one week after nanotechnology procedure; there is no specific mention of which procedure nor is the dancer well known; a Yahoo search does list a Cynthia Smith as a former dancer with Sesame Street Live who now teaches dance in NYC.

Source: kathyschrock.net

Critical Review of WebsiteAnalyze content of http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

WHENDate created or updated

No date listed; copyright has no date

Links current Most links do not work and revert back to original info;

Site navigation Site is very easy to navigate and slickly designed

Source: kathyschrock.net

Critical Review of WebsiteAnalyze content of http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

WHERESource of information

RYT Hospital is affiliated with Dwayne University Medical College. Neither entity exists elsewhere and are not affiliated with any other university or established medical research institution

External links No external links; no mentions of other sites or medical/governmental agencies

References No bibliography or sources listed

Info found via other sources

The medical innovations discussed cannot be found elsewhere

Source: kathyschrock.net

Critical Review of WebsiteAnalyze content of http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

WHYReason for site There is no apparent motive for the website other than promoting

RYT Hospital and its “innovations”; search results do claim it is a hoax but the website is quite elaborate

Information useful

The information is not useful because it is unsubstantiated

Selling product There are no product offering or external ads promoting merchandise

Advocating agenda

Website does not promote any specific agenda; information listed in the “factual” style used by medical institutions; the lack of bias adds to the site’s presumed credibility

Source: kathyschrock.net

Critical Review of WebsiteAnalyze content of http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

Bottom Line

Is the website a credible source of information?

NO

Yet, if you entered via the patient care or education page the site could appear rather plausible.

Critical Review of WebsiteAnalyze content of http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

A deeper web search of RYT Hospital website finds that it is actually part of an art installation by Virgil Wong. Wong is a graduate faculty member in the MFA media studies program at The New School University in New York. He developed the project to demonstrate that the visual conventions of an institution (logo and website) can produce an aura of credibility which “coaxes viewers to suspend their disbelief for just a moment and consider the remarkable implications if such stories were actually true” (Eifmova & Wong, 2003).

In 2009, the New York Times reported that it “promotes a fictitious medical center — its Web site, rythospital.com, is disarmingly authentic — that specializes in male pregnancy (Ryzik, 2009).

This may be an extreme case of misinformation on a website but it highlights the most important part of evaluation –

ALWAYS LOOK BEYOND STYLE FOR SUBSTANCE

References

Ryzik, M. (2009, May 10). HomeBase IV - at an abandoned clinic, artists reflect on � �home. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/arts/design/11home.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1354471295-7jnKxru21fXx5goD1GjYhQ

Scheibe, C. & Rogow, F. (2008) 12 Basic Ways to integrate media literacy and critical thinking into any curriculum (3rd ed.). Project Look Sharp, Ithaca College. Retrieved from http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/Resources%202/12BasicWaysBooklet.pdf

Schrock, K. (2001). The five w’s of web site evaluation Retrieved from kathyschrock.net/abceval/5ws.pdf

Efimova, A. (Interviewer) & Wong, V. (Interviewee). 2003. Art exhibitions G-Commerce (Interview Transcript). Retrieved from University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and pacific Film Archive Web site: http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/art/AN0208