Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet

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Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet

A new book offers an
eye-opening expose of the varied types of chicanery, fraud and misinformation
that's rife on the Internet -- and what to do if you get stung by it.

"There are three kinds of
lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics." (1)

This famous aphorism, often
attributed to Mark Twain, can be said another way: "Don't always believe
everything you read."

This is especially true when
you're searching for treasure in the world's largest "information gold
mine" -- the world wide web. Sure, the web is a great source of
authoritative, high quality information. But it's also littered with pages full
of inaccuracies, partial truths, and outright lies. Twain again: "A gold
mine is a hole in the ground with a liar on top." (2)

Want proof of the web's
duplicity? Look no farther. The links below will take you to the web pages
where I found the quotes from Twain. But there's a big problem with both
quotes.

They aren't Mark Twain's
words.

The "damned lies"
quote comes from Twain's autobiography, but the words aren't his -- they're
Twain quoting former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. And there is no
record of the "gold mine" quotation in Twain's books or papers.
Because Twain was such an adept quipster, he is credited for many things he
didn't say, according to Twain authority Jim Zwick (3).

This highlights a
key problem with the web. It's carelessly used as a primary source of information, when in fact
it's more often a secondary source. Someone reads an inaccurate statement on
the web, quotes it on another web page, search engines obligingly index all of
the inaccurate pages, and we end up with a mess where fiction is accepted as
reality.

Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet is a new book from Forbes
Inc.'s Director of Knowledge Management, Anne P. Mintz. Mintz offers a
marvelous expose of the multitudes of chicanery that can be found online. The
book is a collection of essays from leading authorities who discuss both the
social and technical reasons why inaccurate information exists on the Internet.

The extent of online deception
portrayed in the book is a real eye-opener. The first chapter chronicles
hoaxes, counterfeit sites, and other spurious sources of information on the
Net. Succeeding chapters go into depth on medical, legal and corporate
misinformation, as well as charity and e-commerce scams.

An excellent chapter by LaJean
Humphries provides specific, detailed techniques for evaluating the quality of
online information. Chapters by Susan Feldman and Elizabeth Liddy focus
specifically on the technical aspects of search engines, and how they can be
"tricked" by misinformation. Two other chapters focus on privacy
issues, and what to do if you fall victim to online fraud.

Mintz clearly selected both
the authors and subjects for the book with care. In less skilled hands, this
book could have been nothing more than hype-ridden tome designed to scare
people into buying it. Instead, the focus of the book never wavers from
providing a clear-eyed, objective look at a serious problem. The goal is to
inform and enlighten, and the book succeeds admirably.

Web of Deception is a must-read book for any serious
searcher, not only to help protect
yourself from online charlatans, but also for its excellent chapters on search
engine technology. This book truly is a gold mine, because as Twain (really)
said, "Truth
is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to
possibilities; Truth isn't."

Web of
Deception: Misinformation on the Internet
by Anne P. Mintz
CyberAge Books - $24.95
ISBN: 0-910965-60-9

(1) How to Lie with Statistics
http://www.robelle.com/smugbook/stats.html
This book review attributes Disraeli's famous quote to Mark Twain.

(2) "A gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar on
top"
http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/gump/anderson/anderson.html
This inaccurate attribution to Twain appears on no less than an U.S. government
web site.

(3) Misattributed Quotes: What Mark Twain Didn't Say
http://www.boondocksnet.com/twaintexts/quotes_not_twain.html
Popular quotes attributed to Mark Twain that can not be found in any of his works
and are believed to be misattributed to him, from Twain scholar Jim Zwick.

Chris Sherman, October 15, 2002

Active Member

So grateful to your efforts , madam.

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Guest, watch your thought , it becomes your words...Watch your words they become your actions...Watch your actions they become your habits...Watch your habits they become your character...Watch your character it becomes your destiny

Head of the Forum

As we have always known you , Madam, thoughtful and extremely generous. Thank you heaps!

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