Internet Reliability

"Don't believe everything to read on the Internet" -Abraham Lincoln

I am not sure who actually coined the above quote but it is funny because there is no way Abraham Lincoln could have made such a comment. It also illustrates the point that there is a lot of false information on the Internet. One has to be careful about where pearls of wisdom are found.

One benefit of newspapers is that there are editors to ensure facts are checked and lies are not printed. It doesn't always work, but it does most of the time. On the Internet, anyone with enough technical knowledge can print whatever they want. There is nothing to prevent the spreading of false conspiracy theories, non-working medical remedies, or untrue rumors. Therefore it is important to take everything you read on the Internet with a grain of salt.

There are a number of websites that do contain truthful information and it is important to be able to separate fact from fiction. It is rare that you will get bad medical information from the Mayo Clinic or WebMD. However I would double-check Jimmy-Bobs recipe for ridding yourself of the flu. If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. One nice thing about the Internet though is that if you find an untruthful site, spin the wheel and search again. Chances are you will find a reliable site with the information you need.