Fact Checking

Every student (and teacher) should have a resource or two that they use to check facts and authenticity. We all know of those e-mail chain letters that circulate, ridiculous claims, warnings about the latest computer virus, or that bizarre photo circulating of "Hercules" the three headed dog. And try as we might to ensure that students use school approved data bases for research, Google is so much easier...

Here are my favorite fact checking sites:
1. www.snopes.com -One of the Internet's most trusted authorities on urban legends and all things Internet. Good search engine!
This is my first resource when I get that annoying forwarded email about the latest scam.

2. Scambusters.com for useful, practical, and trustworthy information on identity theft, Internet scams, credit card fraud, phishing, lottery scams, urban legends, and how to stop spam.

3. TruthorFiction.com ferrets out the truth about rumors, inspirational stories, hoaxes, scams, humorous tales, pleas for help, prayer requests, calls to action, and other forwarded emails.

4. From the folks at about.com comes UrbanLegends.about.com. They categorize their information into three main categories: Basic, Current, and Classic. A very nice layout makes this on easy to read and navigate