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Skeptic's toolbox

Just a few sources to check out before believing or repeating (especially repeating) an "amazing" claim

General
Snopes http://snopes.com
The Straight Dope http://www.straightdope.com
Urban Legends http://urbanlegends.com
Political:
FactCheck http://www.factcheck.org
Politifact http://www.politifact.com
Health:
Quackwatch http://www.quackwatch.com
WebMD http://webmd.com
U.S. National Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov
Science:
Bad Astronomy http://www.badastronomy.com
Religious issues:
Religious Tolerance http://www.religioustolerance.org
Infidels.org http://www.infidels.org
BibleGateway http://www.biblegateway.com

Last is Google: http://google.com

Try only educational sites by adding "site:edu" to your search. Not a sure-shot, but it might help weed out the conspiracy blogs. http://www.google.com/search?q=site:edu

Of course, just because Snopes.com or WebMD says something is true or false doesn't mean you should take their word on it either, but you have to start somewhere.

So next time you get a forwarded email or hear some horror story, please take a few minutes to at least attempt to verify it before passing it along to others.

2008-02-22
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