DO YOU ALWAYS BELIEVE WHAT YOU FIND ON THE INTERNET?

It always amazes me when I hear someone say if they saw or read something on the Internet it must be true. In truth, the Internet is a myriad of misinformation, fallacies and yes, sometimes, outright lies. Granted there is plenty of good, reliable and honest information out there, but sometimes just the tiniest error may lead you in the wrong direction.

As a test to see if anyone was actually reading some of my posts for The Green Free Library, I wrote a short article on the history of Father’s Day and posted it in June of 2010. I re-posted it in June of 2011. In this piece I inserted a picture of the woman who is given credit for instigating the holiday-Sonora Smart Dodd. I also inserted a picture that I found when I was researching the facts about the day, as I found it through Google. The picture is however, obviously mislabeled and inaccurate. After exactly two years, a reader has finally commented on this inaccuracy, and she picked up the 2011 post, as I did not re-post this year.

Homeschool SA Mom June 16, 2012 10:34 AM
The story of Mr. Smart and his daughter is indeed a lovely one. However, I doubt that the photo of the baby and gentleman could possibly be of Sonora Smart and her father, as she was born in 1882, ... long before colored photography, neck ties in that style and horn rimmed spectacles. Respectfully.

So what does this mean? It means many people (school-aged and older) that are researching and looking for facts, often come up with inaccurate information and may not even know it. Since I labeled my photo as: “Sonora as an infant with her father, William Jackson Smart”, Google images automatically picked it up and directed people to my post, especially the second year I posted it.


Is it their fault if they mistakenly accept every posted tidbit as the truth? In my opinion, YES!

Anyone, absolutely anyone, can write and post anything they want on the Internet whether they are knowledgeable on the subject, or just making it up as they go along. It is up to those using the information to make sure it is correct. Determining if a site is credible is a lot more complicated than just plugging a query into a search engine and taking the first few results that pop-up. It is imperative to check certain characteristics such as when the site was created, and if the information and links are current, if the author has some authority in the field they are promoting, and perhaps has an association with an institution or organization relating to the field. Having a list of works citied that can be verified is also a sign of legitimacy. The type of site may also help determine the validity of the information. Sites with URL’s ending in .edu are usually associated with educational institutions, while government sites use .gov. Sites ending in .org are usually used by organizations and .com sites are usually commercial, though many times these days an entity may own both a .com and a .org domain for marketing purposes.
So basically the old adage-check and double check, still applies even in the modern age of technology.

Note-I have removed the caption so Google no longer picks up the image.