How to Be Wary of What You're Reading Online

I think it comes back to what is the intention of the organization who owns the website. If their intention is to deceive you, then they're doing it wrong. I think your persuasive design shouldn't be deceptive because in the long run, that's going to hurt you. Deception by definition is evil. Whereas persuading is actually just arguing, arguing a such. Writing the discussion or using techniques to make people understand the benefits rather than trick them.