What might motivate people to publish articles that are not completely factual? Discriminating readers use their critical-thinking skills to look out for information that is inaccurate, biased, sensationalized, or lacking in pertinent details.

When you use material from your reading, you have an ethical obligation to double-check its accuracy, looking for other sources that report the same findings. Publications that must be produced quickly—such as newspapers, magazines, and books on the latest technology—are prone to errors.

Information published with few, if any, editorial guidelines—for example, some articles on the Internet and stories in tabloids—cannot be trusted.