Information on complementary and alternative medicine and approaches continue to sprout all over the Internet, from social media sites to health blogs. Though many of these websites are helpful, some may have misleading or inaccurate information.
To better be guided in finding legitimate online sources of information, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has provided a guide sheet:
Checking Out a Health Web Site: Five Quick Questions
If you're visiting a health Web site for the first time, these five quick questions can help you decide whether the site is a helpful resource.
Who? Who runs the Web site? Can you trust them?
What? What does the site say? Do its claims seem too good to be true?
When? When was the information posted or reviewed? Is it up-to-date?
Where? Where did the information come from? Is it based on scientific research?
Why? Why does the site exist? Is it selling something?
Are You Reading Real Online News or Just Advertising?
In April 2011, the Federal Trade Commission warned the public about fake online news sites promoting an acai berry weight-loss product. On a typical fake "news" site, a story described an investigation in which a reporter used the product for several weeks, with "dramatic" results. The site looked real, but it was actually an advertisement. Everything was fake: there was no reporter, no news organization, and no investigation. The only real things were the links to a sales site that appeared in the story and elsewhere on the Web page. Similar fake news sites have promoted other products, including work-at-home opportunities and debt reduction plans.
You should suspect that a news site may be fake if it:
- Endorses a product. Real news organizations generally don't do this.
- Only quotes people who say good things about the product.
- Presents research findings that seem too good to be true. (If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.)
- Contains links to a sales site.
- Includes positive reader comments only, and you can't add a comment of your own.
From NCCAM.NIH.gov