Online Information: Fact or Fiction?

These days, it seems like you can find information online about almost anything. Yet, just because something is published on the Internet — or shows up in your e-mail — doesn't make it true.

How Reliable is Online Information?

There are no binding rules or clear guidelines to help ensure the quality or integrity of online content. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, bloggers sometimes offer opinions or pass along rumors as facts, and Web sites may publish inaccurate or misleading information.

Meanwhile, junk e-mail, called spam, is a common delivery method for hoaxes and online scams that can result in fraud, identity theft; or computer damage from malicious software. Chain e-mails can spread panic with scare stories about health risks and other potential dangers, and could end up separating you from your money.

What Can You Believe Online?

In your daily life, you already know how to recognize bogus information that could lead to fraud or other costly decisions. You need to apply those same skills online. Making good use of the Internet includes knowing how to evaluate the trustworthiness of the information you find online or receive in e-mail. Here are a few tips:

• Know your sources — Some sources are more trustworthy than others. News sources such as MSNBC, CNN, and The New York Times publish factual information as well as opinion, and clearly say which is which. You can also rely on most government and academic sites for solid information. Sources such as these have rigorous editorial or peer-review processes to help ensure the information they publish is factual.
• Look behind the curtain — Remember the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz? Web sites are like that, too. Behind the text on the screen, there are people working to inform you and persuade you to share their point of view. Read the About Us page on Web sites, and check out the profiles of the bloggers you like to get a sense of their biases, perspectives, and personal passions.
• Don't respond to scams and hoaxes — You probably know about phishing scams, which use e-mail and phony Web sites that look legitimate but are actually designed to trick you into revealing personal information to criminals. Many other scams and hoaxes arrive the same way. Advance-fee scams, such as the Nigerian and international lottery scams, promise millions of dollars in return for a small investment. Many work-at-home, Web-based businesses offer high incomes for little effort and few skills. Don't be fooled by these promises — they are all just online fraud.
• Delete chain letters — E-mail chain letters typically instruct you to forward the message to at least 10 friends within 24 hours, promising health, money, free products, or good fortune if you comply. Some chain letters appear benign, offering success secrets or inspirational stories you may feel inclined to pass on. Others try to spread fear, warning you about health risks or financial crises that are either false or wildly inflated. E-mail chain letters are also used to promote pyramid schemes, which try to trick you into sending money to other people in the hope of receiving larger sums yourself. Pyramid schemes are illegal, and chain e-mail clogs the Internet with spam.
• Understand the Internet — The Internet is a powerful information and communication medium, but it is relatively new. People are still experimenting with how to use it. Wikipedia, for example, is an online encyclopedia that relies on hundreds of thousands of users worldwide for contributions and corrections. Some educators and experts question the value of the information on Wikipedia because most writing and editing is unsupervised. Others defend the Wikipedia model as a free exchange of ideas where participants quickly correct factual errors and biased information. Understanding the origins of online information can help you decide how far to trust it.
• Blogging for fun and profit — Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can set up a personal Web page or blog in just a few minutes. Some blogs are simply online diaries; others are organized as news, issues or advocacy sites; and still others generate income for their owners. Bloggers range from recognized experts, authors, and professional journalists to people who want to share their thoughts with a few friends to curmudgeons who want to spout off. The quality and reliability of information on blogs varies as much as the bloggers themselves.

For more information, see How to Know What You Can Believe Online.