Medical information on the internet

Caveat lector et viewor - Let the reader and viewer beware! Thus sayeth Silberg et al.1 in their brief account of the apparent incompatibility between freedom of the press and accuracy of medical information. They point out that the problem is too much, rather than too little information. The Internet, where every Tom, Dick and Harry can be their own author, editor and publisher, is widely available to both lay and professional browsers. This has brought about a situation where a multitude of information seekers equipped with one or other search engine, wallow through a morass of material that ranges from first class research data to profound garbage. Without a medical background it is well-nigh impossible for the average person-in-the-street to sort the wheat from the chaff.