Believable Unbelievable Internet Based Information

The world around us has changed over recent years with the evolution of cyberspace and the development of the internet. Information in cyberspace is like an endless repository of information of various kinds, where there are no checks on who uploads the information and who downloads the same. Cyberspace thus practices equality in its most pristine form, though at the same time it also has the potential of fomenting communal hatred, inciting violence, and affecting public opinion. The fundamental challenge here is how to establish what information in cyberspace is useful, authentic, and original and what is not. Given the growing popularity of the internet, there is a need to address the regulation of its use so that our society is not divided on social, cultural, and economic lines. This paper discusses the issues concerning openness and authenticity of information found in cyberspace, and its impact on the world around us. It illustrates the point that certain level of control is essential to minimise the detrimental social, cultural, and economic impacts from the multifaceted information available in cyberspace. This may even require re-examination and re-structuring of the traditional institutions that we have come to rely on to resolve the basic issues of society.