Due to rapid technological development, it became possible for anyone to share any piece of information online with a large audience. However, it also gave an opportunity for certain people to post fake news to cause disinformation among people. For that reason, I firmly believe that readers can not trust everything they read on the internet.
The main reason the internet is full of unreliable news is social media platforms. On the one hand, they could be used as an effective tool to inform a broader audience about various events happening around the world. On the other hand, other users may be harmed because of misleading data. For instance, in the past years a huge amount of information about COVID-19 had been posted online and some of it was very untrue. As a result, it caused increased panic and led to massive hysteria among the population. Furthermore, because of the option to repost the information, it was challenging to check on its credibility and get rid of it afterwards.
Additionally, the internet allows social media influencers to share their thoughts and even advice, which could be based only on their opinions and beliefs, so it can be far from confirmed facts. In many cases, those famous individuals do not even possess any trustworthy knowledge about the topic. Therefore, by spreading their views on specific topics, such as health care, they could encourage their followers to use certain medications or follow dubious diets, which in turn might be harmful for their wellbeing.
In the final analysis, I believe that social media platforms are considerably responsible for the number of unreliable information and sources, due to the fact that any person with an internet connection is able to post their opinions online, regardless of their level of knowledge on a peculiar subject.