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My ex-father-in-law can be considered a modern day conspiracy theorists. He does not call his pastime an act of nonsense, but rather a sense of questioning. Although he shared with me valuable information on interesting events that occurred on September 11, 2001, he kind of left me speechless when he informed me about his decision regarding Hurricane Katrina claiming that it was caused by a weather device controlled by the Chinese. Whatever the case may be, one of his favorite Websites is whatreallyhappened.com.

Whatreallyhappened.com may not be the best source for factual news, but it does help its readers think about the state of the country. Whether it is the events on September 11, or the current conflict in Russia, the Website guides conspiracy theorists, as well as anyone looking for a good story, to “the truth.” It takes newspapers and other world-wide publications and broadcasts in a collaborative nature so that viewers are made aware of exactly what is really happening.

The site has a distinct recognizable purpose to educate users. It is reinforced throughout the site through the numerous articles from around the world. Some of the news is valid while other news comes from tabloids and less respected publications. If viewing the site, be sure to know the difference. From the headlines, the reader is clear as to what exactly the company stands for and that is to question the government.

Questioning plays a big role in the theme of what really happened. Although, the site is a little difficult to find on search engines such as google.com or yahoo.com, it is also at the same time very simple. Searching for “conspiracy theories,” or “government cover-ups,” will not bring you to whatreallyhappened.com, but searching under “what really happened,” gives the site front row real-estate. However, is it worth viewing?

The information on the site is relatively easy to find. Main categories with numerous article links are on the left. Also, the search engine is accurate by topic. So, the viewer can either search by a specific date in history or a specific event. It also is very simple to navigate to the main page. All of the information is also sited accurately in the log-lines as well as throughout the links. Different articles are also tagged so it is easy for someone to find the topic that interests him or her. For example there is an Economy tag as well as a Middle East tag. On whatreallyhappened.com, content is key.

Although the site has a distinct purpose, relatively easy to find, and simple to navigate through, is the information valid? Gas prices are highly unmanageable and then, somewhat inexpensive. If searching gas prices on what really happened, the results focus on the legalities of the gas prices. One article poses the question of whether or not it is legal while another gives an alleged report about what happens behind closed doors. In Florida, what really happened reports, gas is at over $5.00 per gallon. This is a fact. However, one must consider the source and the writer is a blogger with little to none accreditations.

This is a fact that readers much be cautious of when visiting this site, or any site for that matter. Can the writer/blogger be trusted? Well, the site publishes it like they can. Not all of the articles are written by possible novices, but a majority of them are. Other publications are taken from less mainstream media. For example, one of the articles on the gas prices yields to nationally recognized reports.

It is all a matter of what the viewer wants to believe and who he or she favors. Anything can be proven because statistics can be manipulated. It is best when viewing this site, or similar sites, to follow up with sites that are used as verification tools. For example, one site is factchecker.org. So when searching for a conspiracy, it is good to know the facts. When searching for a good story, it is good to ignore them.