Abstract:
On-line, just as off-line, there are ways of assessing the credibility of information
sources. The Internet, although it arguably makes for nothing wholly new in this regard,
complicates the ordinary task of assessing credibility.
In the first section, I consider a specific example and argue that Internet content
providers have no clear interest in resolving these comlications. In the second, I consider
four general ways that we might assess credibility and explore how they apply to life online. Finally, I argue that even careful information gathering may pose subtle pitfalls but that some of these may be mitigated on-line.
