Information Reliability
[Claimed by Lauren Guldan]
Information reliability[1] is the question of how much confidence one can place in certain information. The measure of reliability largely refers to how little error is present in the information, how unbiased the information is, and how faithful the data remains to the source.[2]
History
Ethics
Best Practices
In general, best practices for determining whether information is reliable tend to be subjective. However, there are some general guidelines to follow when assessing the reliability of information, particularly on the Internet. Offline, best practices tend to suggest that the user determines the author and date of the source. Information on the author and their past writings or education can often point to reliability; furthermore, the date of sources should be considered during the process of vetting information. Information about more recent topics, such as digital technology or the Internet, tend to be more reliable when their publication date is more recent. These same policies can be useful specifically in determining the reliability of online sources. For instance, online sources in which the author's name cannot be found or verified would be considered less reliable. Online resources whose source is from a reputable institution, such as a university, government website, well-known organization, or credible media site, offer more reliability.[3]
Issues of Reliability in the News
Following the 2016 presidential election, one news story broke relaying the story of a teenage boy who has earned upwards of $60,000 in six months due to the viral nature of his fake stories, which generated revenue through their penny-per-click models. The boy, whose real name was not revealed, was one of many Macedonian teens who used fake news to generate income. Much of the fake news centered on President Donald Trump and negative aspects of Hillary Clinton's campaign. For example, one of the most popular fake news headlines during the election read "JUST IN: Obama Illegally Transferred DOJ Money to Clinton Campaign!"[4] This web page no longer exists.
