Can I trust what I find on the Internet?

This really depends on what you are looking for and what you find. Like all sources of information, you should question the authority. Some questions to consider include:

Why does a website exist? To share information? Advertise? Express a point of view?

Consider who created the site and why! Does it say? What are the credentials of the creator? What is the bias?

How accurate is the information? How important is it to the creator to be accurate? Can you independently confirm accuracy? Can you contact the creator with questions?

How timely is the information? Is there a last updated date? What happens to the site in the long run?

Lies, Damned Lies, and the Internet by Marylaine Block is an excellent essay on the reliability of Internet publications in general and includes a good bibliography to other resources on this topic.
http://marylaine.com/lies.html

Ten C's For Evaluating Internet Sources from the McIntyre Library at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire provides 10 short points to remember when considering any website.
http://www.uwec.edu/Library/research/guides/tenCs.pdf

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Last modified:
Thursday, 10-Apr-2008 14:16:32 PDT