US: Google CEO says Internet is "a cesspool where false information thrives"

Posted by Lauren Drablier on October 13, 2008 at 3:35 PM

In a recent article, Cnet reported that Google CEO Eric Schmidt, believes the Internet is "a cesspool where false information thrives." According to Cnet, because there are no barriers to entry and easy production and distribution, it is easy for false information to "infiltrate" the Internet.

Schmidt goes on to say "branding" is a way to avoid this infiltration. He also gave the example of blogs such as GigaOm, Politico, TechCrunch, Huffington Post, and VentureBeat, which are providing valuable alternatives.

Dan Farber, editor-in-chief of Cnet says, "Unfortunately, Web users come from a place in which paying for content is not part of the culture. If people are willing to pay $4.99 for six hamburger buns or $3.50 for a simple cup of coffee, why aren't they willing to pay for content they value? One can only assume that people are willing to settle for content of generally less value that is free of charge--or that hamburger buns are more essential to life than a good, well-researched story."

Google CEO, Eric Schmidt went on to comment that, "Narrative sustains the [media] business... but the future of high-quality journalism is a huge problem. A reasonable prediction is that there will be fewer voices. More money is needed to fund high-quality work." With major economic problems around the world, funding for more in-depth, high-quality work is becoming increasingly scarce.

Sources: Cnet News