Information Integrity

Urban legends have fascinated (and sometimes terrified us) for generations. When these legends are mistaken for truth, however, information integrity can be severely compromised. Snopes.com is one of the best-known fact-checkers on the interneta go-to resource for any type of overheard factoid, from old wives’ tales to hoaxes, celebrity gossip, and common mis-beliefs.The articles on the site are almost entirely written by Barbara and David Mikkelson. This devoted husband-and-wife duo has made a career out of correcting circulating rumors. They go through a variety of research and physical fact-checking to prove their point, such as tracking down President dollar coins to prove that they still say “In God We Trust.” Other recent rumors that the Mikkelsons have recently debunked include an upcoming cell-phone directory that will be available to telemarketers, and the rumor that Mars will be closer to Earth this August than at any time during our lifetimes. (more…)

The Information Integrity Coalition (IIC) is one of the most excitingand importantnon-profit organizations working today. Their goal is to ensure that Information Integrity has a verifiable list of best practices, and that organizations and companies are held accountable. Infogix, a leading organization in the area, defines Information Integrity as “the trustworthiness and dependability of information. More specifically, it is the accuracy, consistency and reliability of the information content, processes and systems.”The IIC holds an annual awards ceremony to recognize both For-Profit and Non-Profit exemplars of the field. The judging panel is made up of individuals who are passionate advocates of Information Integrity. So who made the cut last November at the 14^th annual ceremony? (more…)

Information Integrity, in a business sense, refers to the idea that information is accurate and sent securely. Infogix (tagline: “Information With Confidence”) has been working in this field since 1982, with Global 2000 clients including: life insurers like Allstate and Aflac; telecommunications groups like AT&T and Qwest Communications; energy organizations like BP and Bridgestone Firestone, and more. But what, exactly, does Infogix do? According to the company’s “About” page, their goal is to produce software to monitor and detect information errors. At the same time, Infogix Controls Solutions help to lower the risks of future errors while “increasing the effectiveness of regulatory compliance programs.”Infogix’s product line is specialized and applicable to a variety of computing environments. The Infogix Assure software suite is designed for distributed computing environments, while Infogix ACR is designed for mainframe environments. The Infogix Insight product gives users an overview of what Infogix Controls Solutions are doing for them, offering an easy way to see definitions, statuses, and histories. Infogix’s software touches on several categories of information integrity, from verifying content and format and detecting duplicates to tracking the process by which information is sent and received. (more…)

The Internet has made it very easy for hoaxers to post erroneous information as though it were true. Sites like Wikipedia even have the illusion of authority and have run into problems when that authority has been called into question. Obviously, it’s important to know how to verify information online. Here are some easy tips that could save you from misrepresentations, hoaxes, and scams.

1. Check the information in a print source. Books have a more strenuous system of fact-checking before publication than most online sites, so if you’re using an unfamiliar site, try to match the information in a hard copy. If you see a continuous degree of matching, there’s a good chance it’s a reputable site.
2. Contact the author with questions. If you do find an error, send a quick e-mail alerting the author and see how they respond. Sometimes people make mistakes, and the advantage of the Internet is that these can be corrected rapidly. And if there’s no contact information? Try finding another site. (more…)

Wikipedia is one of the most influential information experiments of our time. Its basic reliance on user-generated content, as well as its popularity around the world, makes it an easy target for hoaxes and pranks. Some of these are harmless but misleading, while others attack individuals. Wikipedia has a series of quizzes and courses designed to inform people about such dangers, highlighting the worst cases that have occurred so far.The Seigenthaler incident refers to a hoax article that was up for four months linking journalist John Seigenthaler to the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy. After discovering the article, Seigenthaler contacted Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, and asked if there was any way to discover who had published the article. Due to Wikipedia’s anonymity clauses, the unfortunate answer was “no.” Seigenthaler found little help when he went to BellSouth Internet, which had registered the poster’s IP account. As a result of the incident, new guidelines and oversight features were added on the Wikipedia site. (more…)