The MacArthur Foundation’s Applying Technology To Make A Difference Grant has funded the Information School at the University of Washington amongst other institutions to investigate the issues of credibility of Internet information.

The goal of the Credibility Commons project is to improve access to credible information on the Internet. Based on findings from exploratory research in 2005, our group of researchers proposed the creation of a “Credibility Commons” to further the agenda of helping people assess the credibility of online information. The Credibility Commons aims at:

• Creating awareness about issues of credibility online.
• Developing an empirical basis for action to provide practical support for people’s online behavior.
• Developing tools to improve users ability to assess information in context.

With this in mind, the Credibility Commons involves three primary components:

1. Research: Research involves a series of empirical studies of people’s individual and collaborative behaviors pertaining their use and assessment of information, transactions,and social relationships online. Our research is grounded on existing knoweldge of credibility research and intends to continue to keep abreast the evolving capabilities of Internet applications. Our research is also closely tied to our development of tools.
2. Tools: The Credibility Commons works with developers and information providers in translating existing knowledge of information credibility into the development of tools that assist information cosumers in the strategic use of information. These tools are evaluated empirically. We aim at incorporating new credibility tools and mechanisms into a wide array of information products.
3. Public: All tools and research of the commons shall have validation in real use. A major component of the Commons shall be a public Internet presence with tools, tutorials, research reports, consumer guides, and means of taking in user feedback.

Motivation

While the credibility of information in general is an issue, the Internet presents a new set of challenges. Today, the public is expected to purchase goods, do banking, and read about health and politics online. In addition, as consumers become producers of online information and contribute to blogs and social news distribution channels on topics such as health, politics, and education, new challenges arise about how to effectively present information and how to strategically assess its credibility. The time is ripe to address credibility issues, develop tools that advance alongside current Internet applications, and prevent dire consequences.

While there is a body of literature in credibility and tools designed to help people assess the credibility of Internet information, people might not have the skills or knowledge to do so. Therefore, while the credibility of information on the Internet is a tractable problem, continuous work is needed to keep abreast with the state of knowledge and technologies in the area and develop practical next steps in addressing issues of credibility of information on the Internet.