Who can you TRUST?

Sometimes a claim is just completely wrong, while other times it can be difficult to know what’s true. When you watch the news on TV or read something in a newspaper, you certainly don’t expect what they write or say to be a lie or nonsense. You might also think that you can rely on the information published on the Internet. But that’s not always the case.

All newspapers and TV channels are responsible for ensuring that what they print or broadcast is correct. If they deliberately say something they know to be false, they can be fined. On the Internet, it’s different. Here, everyone – newspapers, government ministers, your sports team, your neighbour, and even you – can post information and opinions on anything and everything between heaven and earth.

Free for all?
When your parents wrote school assignments on The Beatles, they had to go to the library to find  Information. Just think how much easier you’ve got it now! Simply by pressing a few buttons, you have access to enormous amounts of information from all over the world. You can even add to the knowledge available on the Internet by contributing to some websites, such as Wikipedia. In this way, others can learn from you.

The Internet is great for finding and sharing photos, music, and information. But not all of it is available for free. You can download or use music, photos, or films, so long as you have paid for them, or if the person who made or owns them has given you permission. If you reproduce a text that you find online, you must
indicate where the text came from.

Safe source? You’ve probably used Google or some other search engine to find information for your schoolwork. You may have got hundreds or thousands of hits for the search term you put in. It’s not easy to know which pages to go to, to find the right information! What is a reliable source? Who posted the information? When was it posted? Could it be old information that is no longer correct?   Be critical of what you read and see. Not  everything is as it seems.