Madhuri
Singh
Dr.
Kellie Sharp
ENG105
21
October 2022
Leading Readers to Water and Making Them Think: Tom
Way’s DHMO.org
Recently, the phenomenon of “fake
news” has received increasing media attention. In response, the general public has been urged to carefully consider what
they hear, see or read in the news, especially online, where the barrier to
publishing misinformation is very low. Some people even purposely create
misleading websites intended to show readers how they can be manipulated into
false beliefs. Tom Way’s website, DHMO.org, is an older example prototypical of
these sites. It capitalizes on scientific illiteracy by purposely describing water,
referred to almost exclusively as “dihydrogen monoxide” on the site, in
inflammatory and threatening terms. Dihydrogen monoxide is obviously not a
commonly used name, but it follows the basic rules for naming chemical compounds,
and anyone familiar with those standards will quickly realize its meaning: a
molecule with two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen, i.e.
H2O — water. While Way never explicitly connects the name
“dihydrogen monoxide” and the name “water”, he still makes it possible for an
astute reader — even one who doesn’t understand chemical nomenclature — to get
the joke.
The
appearance of the site hearkens back to an earlier age where the best, most
informative websites had simple designs and used bright colors to highlight
important information. While some modern readers may view this style as
outdated, many science websites — including some of NASA’s — have similar
designs even today (Nemiroff and Bonnel).
Especially in the physical sciences, many highly-regarded
online sources are composed of basic HTML: for example, MRIQuestions.com,
popular among students attempting to learn about the technology of magnetic
resonance imaging, has a similar style to Way’s website. This styling, and the
minimal, unintrusive, independent advertisements, present the website as one
which hasn’t “sold out” and can be trusted to provide factual
information. While it may not prove as effective for current audiences,
the style Way chose to use was intended to build ethos, and
may still succeed for some readers. However, the lack of advertising still
signifies a trustworthy site to modern audiences, so Way remains somewhat
successful in his attempt to create credibility via the physical appearance of
his site.
Way
states that his website “[i]nitially
[bore] striking similarity to various research division sites at the EPA”.
While this is no longer part of the design (another page on the site suggests
the EPA sent a cease-and desist letter), it’s worth mentioning because it shows
Way’s dedication to creating a credible-looking site. The website now appears
to be part of something called the “United States Environmental Assessment
Center”, and the logo is clearly based on the EPA’s logo in 1997, when DHMO.org
was created (Way). Arguably, Way is still masquerading as a government website,
based on the clearly purposeful similarity. On one hand, the similarity to the
EPA’s website could trick unwary readers due to the assumption that the
government is a reliable source of information. However, on the other hand,
careful visitors would note the purposeful differences between DHMO.org and
real government websites — not to mention the differing URLs — and begin to
suspect the satirical nature of the website.
Way
also includes hyperlinks on his mane page to other, legitimate websites. For
instance, he offers a link which directs readers to instructions for emailing
their representative in Congress — presumably about the dangers of “dihydrogen
monoxide”, or a request to ban the chemical. Links to legitimate websites also
serve to build ethos. This is a particularly clever strategy; students being
taught how to determine the credibility of websites are often told to check
what else the site links to. Linking to other websites with established
credibility allows Way to capitalize on their established ethos.
DHMO.org
advertises itself as the website of the “Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division”, and presents many alarming-sounding facts about the
chemical: it’s described as “lethal to humans in quantities as small as a
thimbleful”, “a major component of acid rain”, “involved” in gun violence, and
“very available to those who would do harm to others” (Way). This is much like
recent reporting about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called
“forever chemicals”. These chemicals do not readily break down once they have
entered the water supply — much like “DHMO”, in fact. Recently the EPA revised
its guidelines regarding safe levels, leading to reports that rainwater is now
considered “unsafe to drink” “everywhere on Earth” (McFall-Johnsen). This is
technically true but misleading: PFAS levels have not increased, but the EPA
guidelines now say a much lower level of these compounds is “safe”. Rainwater
has not become more unsafe, but in an attempt to stir
up the public some less-scrupulous news outlets are obscuring the fact. People
who have previously encountered satire like DHMO.org are more likely to realize
that these misleading articles are hiding relevant information, because they
remember being tricked before.
Way
includes hints to his site’s true nature, since his
ultimate aim isn’t just to fool readers. The most egregious of these is a small
notice on the bottom of the homepage: “Content veracity is not implied.” Of
course, any visitor who noticed that would immediately become suspicious.
However, even for the less observant, there are other incongruities in the website. The “press kit” is labeled “PRESS ONLY”, and
is password-protected, but the password is available on the site. Anyone who
reads that page will learn the true purpose of the site almost immediately. Still,
even a casual reader will eventually realize “DHMO” is really water. For
instance, one page lists the effects of “accidental Dihydrogen Monoxide
overdose”: “excessive sweating” and “excessive urination” top the list. Combined
with the note in the same section which says “small
amounts of DHMO” are released from the eyes in response to “foreign particulate
irritation, allergic reactions including anaphylactic shock, and sometimes
severe chemical depression”, anyone paying a little attention will be clued in.
According
to the nominally password-protected — the username and password are given on
the front page of the website — “Press Kit” page of DHMO.org, Way created the
site “to blow off steam… about the ways the truth is bent… and to promote
cautious consumption of information and an active skepticism”. Way carefully
crafted his site to appear credible to audiences, so that the eventual
realization of the “trick” is more jarring and convinces audiences to rethink
how they interact with online information. He uses a traditional design for
informational websites, links to other reputable sites, and provides numerous
“fast facts” about the ”dangerous” chemical. However,
his goal is ultimately to teach, so he also carefully sprinkles hints to
the true nature of DHMO throughout the website. Way himself shows the efficacy
of his strategy: his press kit provides multiple links explaining how his site
has been used in classroom lessons about responsible media consumption. Thanks
to Way’s clever design, the vast majority of his
readers aren’t hoodwinked, at least by the time they leave the site. According
to his “press kit”, only about 1% of the emails to the site he receives are
from visitors who were truly taken in. Additionally, there are a handful of
news articles which have brought attention to the website, drawing readers who
already know the gimmick, but who will still leave the page with more
skepticism to other decontextualized claims about chemical dangers. Further,
some secondary schools and universities use the website in classes, to teach
students critical thinking. Clearly, Way has successfully met his stated goals.
Works Cited
Elster,
Allen. MRIQuestions.com, 2021, www.mriquestions.com.
McFall-Johnsen,
Morgan. “Rainwater is No Longer Safe to Drink Anywhere on Earth due to ‘Forever
Chemicals’ Linked to Cancer, Study Suggests.” Business Insider, 13 Aug. 2022, www.businessinsider.com/rainwater-no-longer-safe-to-drink-anywhere-study-forever-chemicals-2022-8.
Nemiroff,
Robert, and Jerry Bonnel. Astronomy Picture of the
Day, 5 October 2022, apod.nasa.gov.
“US Environmental
Protection Agency.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 14 Apr. 2022, www.epa.gov.
Internet Archive. web.archive.org/web/19970420070013/http://www.epa.gov:80/
Way, Tom.
DHMO.org, 4 October 2022, www.dhmo.org.