Internet blogs, directories offer billions of news stories — are they reliable?
I was struck again today as I checked in at some of my favorite news sites (mostly online newspaper sites; as a former newspaper copy editor I’m addicted to newspapers) that the Internet is an overwhelming source of news. There are probably literally (just guessing) BILLIONS of words of news on the Internet, spread around MILLIONS of websites, from blogs to free web directory sites to paid news resources.But is all “news” real news? Are all of these sites trustworthy? How do you know what to read and what to believe?
I can only say, “Good luck on sorting out all those issues.” If something is obviously illogical or downright “wacky,” you can assume you should be skeptical. What about seemingly legitimate websites that consistently “scoop” the major news sites with out-of-the-ordinary news? Are they legit?
That’s where it gets a bit sticky. My general rule of thumb is never to believe the facts of a news story if I cannot confirm it with at least two sources. That was a good rule of thumb during my newspaper copy editing and very-brief-reporting days, so I think it’s a minimum standard I apply to anything I read on the Internet.
What are your standards of truth or “truthiness” (thanks to Stephen Colbert for that fun new term) when you’re reading supposed “news” on the Internet? Leave us a comment, please.
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