I was wondering if everything on the internet is true?

Question

Im new to all this internet stuff and i do know there are some money scams but when there are articles about 9/11 and when they speak about Godly scriptures I do get disturbed and I don't know what to belive.

Answer 1

Anyone can purchase a website and put up whatever they want--that's the freedom of speech in action. So you can’t trust all you find on the Internet. You need to research it or find a source that you can trust.

There is a lot of weird stuff out there. You need to learn how to trust and investigate your sources. I use Wikipedia a lot to answer questions on this board because the US Government backs it, so you won't see any casual lies on it. It is also reviewed for accuracy and correctness. Anyone can contribute to Wikipedia, but the board has to check your submission before they will post it.
Experience has shown me that http://www.about.com/ is a good website, and you can trust it.
When I need to translate something from another language I use: http://babelfish.altavista.com/
When I need a general reference site I go here: http://www.bartleby.com/reference/ They have references that I can trust.
For all things have to do with Movies I use: http://www.imdb.com/
If I want to find the Lyrics for a song: http://lyrics.astraweb.com/

You get the idea. I go to a lot of sites on a search and if I find one that has some information I can trust I bookmark them (add them to Favorites with Ctrl-D).

If you are researching a topic then the best place to start is with the company that produces it, they aren't going to lie to you. Then check on several resources to make sure that the data you have is valid. When I do an Internet search for research I check at least 4 sources. If I can't find 4 sources then I will search again. I read the articles looking for key words and then I will run a search on those. Or I will compose a new search entry and look for more information.

Look for this answer: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhMdith7CsGryh9WzDM3Vm7sy6IX?qid=20060924183707AAWwDCw
You will see that I did a lot of research on the topic. I didn't trust one website because it was offering On-Line Courses and I hadn't heard of it, so I did some additional research on what they said. When I found some websites that were from major colleges agreed then I recommend the site to the questioner.

In the case of this question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArBiSadrmfEDU3qV7h3rnAfsy6IX?qid=20060923165406AAKkDdV
I started in Wikipedia and then used another resource that was listed in the article. I created a huge article and the questioner selected my answer as the best answer because I was so through.

I am middle aged so I can remember life before the Internet. Back then research was not so easy. You could go to the library and spend a few hours looking at a few dozen books, and if you were really good then you could also check out magazine and newspaper articles. Now days I can do that amount of research in 10 minutes. But, I still remember how I was taught to research; verify, verify, verify.

Then find out what type of account it is:
A first person account is made by a witness to the event. These people could be wrong (confused) many witness are, or they could have their own agenda. When Paul Revere described a tussle with British Troops he made it look like the British shot a peaceful crowd. The TV show Unsolved History researched that event, checked other accounts and found out that the British shot into a threatening crowd. Paul Reverie’s account painted the crowd as a peaceful group, when they weren't. He also said that the British Soldiers fired into the crowd for no reason, when the evidence showed that the British retreated first, before firing.

A third person account is made by someone who didn't witness the event, but knows some things about it.

A third person supported account is made by someone who didn't witness the event, but knows something’s about it AND they continued researching other sources to support their account. This is how Wikipedia articles are written.

Still a person can dig up only the sources that support his opinion. If they do that then you need to use your common sense. If he is quoting the New York Little Guy News then you have to wonder why he didn't look at the New York Times. I would then suspect the account was slanted. If this person goes on to quote a few other resources then when you check them out you have to make sure that you know the source. I don't know Mr. John Smith; so an account by him could be incorrect or slanted. I do know Harry Reasoner, Tom Brokoff, and other reporters. They have a reputation for unbiased reporting and a stake in their reporting to make their reports accurate. So I can trust them, however the news industry is known to be slanted toward a liberal point of view. I would have to take that in account.

If a person is trying to prove to the world that a bomb was visible on the bottom of one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on 9/11. Then I am going to look at the picture and see if he has any sources. I will check those out. But, I will always be skeptical. You can change a computer picture to look like anything you want. If I don't see any sources in the article then I will look on-line for other sources and see what they say. I will start looking at sources like news networks, because if they aren't truthful then they will be out of a job, and banded from the field. I would check out at least 4 other resources and I would base my decision on those sources that I trust.

In short anything can be posted on the Internet, some of it is crazy, some just plain weird, and others are fiction. I think you can trust most of the stuff you find, but you have to be careful. Use your common sense, if the website sounds fishy or if says some things that you are not sure about then research the topic to find the truth. And there are some mean people, like the person who posted the first answer, who out and out lie to you. You have to be very careful on what you believe and see on the Internet. There was one campaign where the crooks set up a fake Pay Pal site and then sent an email to eBay users telling them to log in to their accounts with at link that would lead to the fake site. The crooks then used the personal identification information to rob the people that responded.

The Internet should be labeled: Warning, use at your own risk, don’t trust everything you see, and only deal with those that you trust.

Answer 2

While the internet can be a great source of information at times, you do need to be cautious, and use common sense.

As far as Godly scriptures, you might want to go to one of the reputable sites such as Bible.com or a particular church, etc.

Don't base your information on e-mails, and profiles that people post, especially when they're looking for your money.

9/11 is pretty much covered on the news sites.

Answer 3

The internet is an information explosion. A great deal of the internet is devoted to making money...so far as you can trust advertising, is how far you can trust what is being sold....consider the source. Blogs, 360's, personal web pages...they are wide open to state any opinion the person(s) behind it have...poltical, religious, etc.
If you find something offensive, go to a different site.

As with anything in life, be careful and try to determine who is behind whatever information is presented. There are an endless number of trustworthy sites that are reference type sites like refdesk.com or the many, many sites from the Library of Congress or nonprofit/consumer sites or science sites or sites in the arts and humanities...the different types of sites grows daily....... The real beauty of the internet is that you can check the validity of any site. It used to be the power of the pen...I think now, it is the power of the key and internet.

Answer 4

Absolutely not! People can put anything on the Internet. As they say, never believe anything you hear and only half of what you read (or vice versa). Anyway, be more skeptical of what you find on the Internet. So much of it are advertisements and people trying to get your money. Laws have been put into effect against spam; and more laws are needed to protect us from the chiselers that can make their way to us through the Internet.

Answer 5

As in all forums there are truths, half-truths and lies. The internet is a great resource, but all statements must be backed up by original sources. Are you one of those people who believe if it is in print it must be the truth? For Heaven's sake, think. Use your brain and don't get caught up in a frenzy because someone put something on the internet. There are very few checks and balances here.

Answer 6

Well of course everything on the internet is true....
In addition,
a.) fairies are real...
b.) the government would never lie to you....
c.) bigfoot lives in a fourth story walk up in the East Village....
d.) the media is fair and unbiased....
e.) did I mention about the fairies..... etc...

p.s. You want to hear a scripture... what about the one that says " No man shall know the day nor the hour of the return of the son of man." Relax...

Answer 7

About 80% of what you read on the internet is either a crazy persons opinion, or just plain made up. There are some very real web sites but they are few and far in between.

Answer 8

There's no real way to know if what you read on the Internet is true. Most sites don't care if the information they put up is correct, or bother to check. Take everything you read with a grain of salt and research for yourself and make your own decision.

Answer 9

The thing about the internet is that anyone can post their own page and state their beliefs, and make up any reference that they want. One of my computer teachers stated it in a way that stuck with me:

"For every thing on the internet that is true, you can have another thing that is false!"

Don't believe everything you see, and if you research something enough, you can determine what is true and what is false.

Hope this helps you

Answer 10

No, not all are true.

When you surf the Net for information, you should learn to distinguish between factual reporting and propaganda websites. Propaganda websites are primarily those that deliver criticisms without substantiating them or those who distort actual events to insist that something else actually happened.

A more credible source of information will be websites of major news carriers. All others, except some official government reports, border on propaganda. The same will hold true for almost all weblogs.