The One With The "Experts"

What makes content on the Internet valid or accurate? The concept behind Web 2.0 technologies was for users to generate content and have the ability to connect, interact and share with one another. While that technology pioneered and allowed for the social networking sites we are all familiar with, how does this affect the validity of content? One site in particular is Wikipedia. As a kid in school, when learning to do "research" papers and projects, we were always told Wikipedia is not a valid source. Wikipedia pages can be created and edited by anyone at anytime. It defines Web 2.0 technology as its user-generated and easy to use. While it has information on almost everything under the sun, how accurate is that information? Do the editors of these Wiki pages actually know if their facts are correct? Where do they get their information from? Do they get it from other sources on the Internet that are user-generate? Thats the unknown. Thats really unknown about a lot of information on social networking sites, forums and blogs. 

While the Internet is great and provides us with so much knowledge so quickly and easily, it also allows people to hide behind their computer screen. They can tell you anything you want to hear and never have to prove themselves. You can really be anyone you want to be on the Internet. When in groups and communities online, how do you know if the people in those communities are actual experts in their field? Is someone in a medical forum posing as a doctor and providing false information to innocent people as a joke? While I would like to believe no one would be cruel and do that, I am sure there are imposters all over the Internet pretended to be someone they aren't and have knowledge on topics they know very little about. Maybe their main source of information is Wikipedia and that page they read was also created by a person without reputable sources. It's a vicious cycle on the Internet. So, how do we know who we can trust, what source are valid and who is really an expert or professional? 

Always remember, there was a whole TV series called Catfish for a reason. The Internet imposters are out there, whether it's lying about their identity to get a date or lying about their true expertise on a topic just to be heard, you can't always trust what you see online.