How to find reliable information online

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Why do I need to make sure that the health information I look for online is reliable?

The internet is a useful resource for finding out more information about your health, and people or organisations who can support you.

But it is very important to make sure that the information you find is trustworthy.

You can find a lot of false information on the internet. When it comes to health, this can be serious.

What sort of health information can I find online?

• How to make healthy lifestyle choices, for example, about diet and exercise.
• Find out more about illnesses and health conditions.
• Find out more about how illnesses are treated, for example, different medicines or therapies.
• Search for and find health services local to you.  
• Search for apps to help you manage your health.
• Find online support groups, charities, and other health organisations.

But you can also find:

• Websites that are trying to sell you a cure, remedy, or quick fix.
• Misleading information that will not help you.
• Dangerous information that will harm you.
• Distressing or overwhelming information.

How do I know that the health information I have found online is reliable?

You can use the points below as a checklist to help you.

1. Authority

• Can you tell who wrote or created the information?
• What are their credentials?
• Do they have knowledge and experience in the field they are writing about?
• What is their reputation?

2. Accuracy

• Can you compare this information to information that you already know is reliable, for example, what your doctor or nurse has told you?
• If the information talks about medical studies and trials, does it include details about these (also called citations or references)?

3. Coverage

• Is the information about the topic you are interested in?
• Does it meet your needs?
• Is it UK-based information?

4. Age

• Can you tell how old the information is? Medicine is always changing so information needs to be kept up to date.

What are the clues that the information is unreliable?

• Is it trying to sell you something?
• Is it about personal opinion rather than fact?
• Is it undated, or does it date from a long time ago?
• Does it look professional?
• Are there spelling mistakes or broken links?

How do I know where a website comes from?

There are some clues in a website address that tells you where it is from:

.co.uk and .com are sources created by commercial companies.

Websites that end with the following are more likely to be reliable:

.nhs.uk are sources created by the NHS.

.ac.uk websites are sites of universities or colleges.

.gov.uk websites are created by the UK government.

.org.uk websites are produced by charities like Cancer Research or the British Heart Foundation.

What about health information on social media sites?

Social media sites include Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Tik Tok, Instagram and Snapchat.

A lot of health content is shared on these sites.

The points above for assessing whether information is reliable or not applies to these sites too.

Remember that:

• Just because a friend or someone you know has shared content with you, even with good intentions, it does not mean it’s true.
• Social media apps track what you look at and will show you content they think you are interested in. The content is not necessarily accurate.
• Anyone can post on social media.

What about health information on YouTube?

There are lots of useful videos on YouTube that have good health information. But there are also videos that are misleading.

YouTube have introduced some ‘health features’ that mean that when you search for a health topic, reliable sources of information are highlighted at the top. See this short video for details:

Where can I look for more information and advice?

Remember: always speak to your doctor or nurse before you follow advice that you have found on the internet. If you need help finding health information please contact the patient education team or visit the Health Information Point on the ground floor of the Louisa Martindale Building.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm.