How do you determine if information found online is trustworthy?

Answer 1

In short, you need to look at the organization providing the information. All reputable websites have an "About Us" link. Look at it and see who is offering the information and what their particular ideological slant is. Let's say you're looking for a new car, you Google the name of the car and you get several thousand hits. When you checkout a website, look at who is offering the info. Is it a car dealer? Is it an organization that believes only American cars should be bought by Americans? Is it an organization that doesn't care which car you buy (i.e. Consumer Reports)? Use your common sense and you will be able to identify if this is good information for you. A good trick is to rely on .org websites. These groups generally do not have a profit motive and so can be more honest. However, .org websites also include ideological groups so you have to be careful that they are not pushing their own point of view. Finally, don't rely on one source. Look at several websites for information and try to find a consensus about the facts being presented.

Answer 2

To determine if information found online is trustworthy, consider the source of the information, check for citations and references, look for unbiased viewpoints, cross-reference the information with other reliable sources, and consider the author's expertise in the subject matter. Be cautious of websites that contain spelling or grammatical errors, lack of transparency about their authors or sources, or spread sensationalized or extreme viewpoints.