How to Employ a Healthy Skepticism Regarding Web Information

Since just about anyone can put whatever they want on the Web these days, it's best to assess the accuracy of any information you find before assuming it to be true. The best way to determine whether a piece of information is correct is to determine the ultimate source of the so-called facts.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Magazines
• Newspaper
• Internet Access

1. Check for references within the text that give the source that the information was taken from. Check the source to see if the information has been reported properly.
2. Contact the site administrator for source information if no references are given.
3. Determine if a person or entity is paying for the information to be posted. The Web has not yet shown itself responsible for the same standards as traditional print publications, and commercial interests can often affect the objectivity of reporting. Sometimes seemingly objective reviews and articles can be influenced by corporate interests.
4. Consider whether the Web site itself is reliable. Is it the online version of a well-established news agency or someone's personal home page? Someone's personal site may or may not be scrupulous in editing content and determining its veracity.
5. Apply common sense to anything you read online. If what you're reading doesn't seem logical or probable to you, it probably isn't true.
6. Search the Web for more information on questionable facts to see if varying or conflicting versions are being reported. Try visiting urban legends databases and online media watchdog groups.
7. Look in magazines, newspapers and other forms of print media to see if the Web information is also being reported elsewhere. Since print tends to have more rigorous editing standards than online publishing, facts in "black and white" are often, but not always, more reliable.