Gracchus Babeuf and the Internet : an evaluation of historical facts found on the World Wide Web

Abstract

The factual accuracy of the information presented by web sites is a key component of the criteria used in evaluating web sites. Despite this emphasis, however, few studies have been made of how reliable web sites are in presenting information on a historical subject. This study searched the world wide web for sites dealing with Gracchus Babeuf. The information on these sites was then evaluated to determine whether the historical facts presented agreed with those contained in a reputable print source. This study found that it was difficult to reach a firm conclusion regarding the reliability of information found on the web sites evaluated. Problems in identifying what constituted a historical fact, and a lack of detail provided by web sites all contributed to this difficulty. Despite this lack of detail, the web sites did present a general outline of Babeuf s life which was in broad agreement with that provided by the reference source. This study also found that both web and printed works supplied information which was not always consistent with that contained in their stated list of sources.