What's the Motivation?

People publish information for many reasons; in every case it is for some reason. A company publishes ads to sell products. A scientist publishes research to make it available to the scientific community for further study. A politician makes statements in support of her or his campaign or party. Someone writes a bad review of a book or movie because they didn't like it. Whatever the reason, it's important to remember that information does not exist on its own: people prepare and present it in hopes of achieving some goal. You cannot assume that goal is simply to educate you in an objective manner; that is rarely the case. Consider why a person, website, book, or any other source is presenting information. Perhaps their intention is, in the end, good, but you cannot afford to assume this is always the case.