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URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/webeval/provider6.html

Evaluating Internet Health Information Tutorial

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Provider and Purpose—Part 6 of 6

Both of the example sites have advertisements.

When you see advertisements on a site, check if it is easy to tell the ads from the health information.

On the Physicians Academy page, the ad is clearly labeled as an advertisement. You can easily tell it apart from the content on the page. That's a good thing. They are making sure you don't confuse ads with their health information.

Screenshot of PABH homepage. A red box outlines a clearly labeled advertisement. The ad has a light blue background which visually separates it from the white background of the rest of the page.
This example shows what an ad may look like when it is clearly labeled as advertisement.


On the Institute for a Healthier Heart site, the advertisement is not labeled as an ad. It is hard to tell the difference between the ad and the content. This may be done to encourage you to buy something

Screenshot of IHH homepage. A red box outlines the text 'Learn how a revolutionary new drug can help your heart!' located directly under content in a column labeled 'Latest Heart News.'
In this example, the ad is not identified. You need to decide if the website is more interested in promoting a product or offering actual health information.


Next, let's look at evaluating information quality.

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