How to Find a Publisher on a Web Page

1. Look on the website for a name of an organization or company. This may be listed at the top or as part of a logo or trademark. Look for a 'contact us' link and determine the organization's official mailing or telephone number.
2. Examine the page URL. This is located in the address bar following the 'http://'. The type of domain may give you a clue to the publisher. Domains with .edu are from a college or university. Domains containing .gov are a federal or local government website. Other domains such as .com, .net or .org can be personal or corporate websites.

3. Look up the owner of the website using a 'whois' search. This is a tool that gives information about the person or organization that has registered the URL. Enter the URL into a website that provides whois information (see resources). Validate your request if prompted by typing a word or phrase into a box (this is to verify that you are a real person). Read the report and look for a parent organization or individual that registered the website.
4. Do further research on any parent organizations to determine what kind of information they provide. Many hate groups use another website appearing legitimate to promote their cause.