Actually, I was Deep Throat

I was in a chat room once; many years ago, and we were doing what everyone in chat rooms does - discussing politics. I happened to make a reference to something about the Watergate scandal and another person in the chat said my statement wasn't true. Now, I know my Watergate history pretty well, so I challenged the other person's facts. He said that his argument was correct and he should know because he, in fact, was Deep Throat.

Of course, the preceding story is a complete fabrication, but I am willing to bet that it has happened to at least half of the people who actually do chat about Watergate online. Which brings me to the point of this posting - I don't think people inherently trust Internet content. I personally believe that except for the major news outlets, most everything else is wrong (or its porn, which is another discussion altogether). Maybe I am cynical, but I don't think I am alone.

I'm not certain the Internet will become a persuasive means of communication for political candidates until we find a way to make it appear to be a trustworthy medium. How can we make people believe our statements when two clicks away is another website earnestly claiming aliens are living among us and two more clicks away is a site with conclusive evidence that the moon landing was fake? While I celebrate the free speech rights of the wackos and liars of the world, it certainly makes it more difficult for the Internet to be a credible and persuasive medium with them around.

And I should know...I was Deep Throat.