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Online information can help to understand an medical or health issues better. It is important to evaluate the information found during an Internet search to ensure it is accurate and from a reliable source. This section outlines some resources you can use to evaluate health information, verify websites, fact check news articles, and report scams. It is important to think critically and don’t accept any information at face value.
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown in real-time how important fact-checking tools are to use when navigating information sources, particularly information found on social media and news sites.
Compare reporting about Covid-19 in January 2020 and January 2022 to see how much has changed in terms of what we know about the virus, the impact of lockdowns and vaccines on society, and how phrases like "anti-vax" and "social distancing" have inserted themselves into everyday vocabulary.
The sheer amount of misinformation and disinformation shared around Covid-19 has been staggering – not only has this been a result of the continued popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, but also a result of public figures, government officials, and others sharing misleading, incorrect or false information - intentionally and unintentionally - in regards to Covid-19, public health orders and vaccines.
The Digital News Report: Australia 2022, published by the University of Canberra, suggests that up to sixty-two per cent of Australian consumers have experienced misinformation about COVID-19 in any given week across 2021-22.
The need for critical awareness about the information we consume is greater than ever, and we again emphasise that the best source of information for any medical information is your GP or other health professional.
Below is a list of websites that are useful for checking the validity of current news articles and events. They all stress the importance of being impartial, non-biased and transparent, and the International Fact-Checking Network was created in part to ensure that these organisations remain politically and commercially neutral:
Checking the upper level domain of a website address may provide clues to the legitimacy of the host institution or business. Upper Level Domain may indicate:
Websites with "https" tags are usually more secure than sites using the more common "http" designation. This is because the security certification of "https" sites is a process most illegitimate sites don't bother with.
"Safe" websites will display a padlock icon to the left of the website's URL in the browser tab.
These guides by Digicert and Choice have some useful tips relevant for all websites.
