Not at all. Inaccurate information in a publication or website makes it less credible. The overwhelming majority of publishers wish to convey accurate information to the public, and are usually grateful to rid their sites or publications of errors. We're always polite when pointing out erroneous information to any site/publisher/author. Being courteous and respectful (and offering detailed, authoritative correction data) is key to successfully prompting a correction.

Internet Accuracy Project's roots date back to the mid-1980s when our Project Director, Rod Mannix, a writer/researcher/archivist, found an increasing amount of his research time diverted by numerous biographical errors in print. Dismayed by the sheer number of errors contained in major reference sources, he brought many of the errors to the attention of the authors, while offering corrected biographical data. While most were appreciative for the help, thousands, and in some cases, millions of volumes containing the errors remained in circulation. While the Internet has had a positive and most profound effect on the manner in which the public does research, it has also brought about the unfortunate widespread dissemination of erroneous data contained in many of the aforementioned reference books.
Internet Accuracy Project was founded early in 2005 to help make research, both online and off, a more satisfying, error-free experience for all researchers.

That rarely ever happens, but is one of the reasons for the common errors section of our site where we shine a spotlight on erroneous reference data.

Any almanac or encyclopedia is better than none at all. Even though we specifically cite errors in them, we still highly-recommend The World Almanac and Book of Facts and the Time/Information Please Almanac. If you're looking for more in-depth information, and have a little more to spend, the Encyclopædia Britannica and the Collier's Encyclopedia, are both fine choices. Better yet, add more than one of the above reference books to your home library so you're not reliant on any one source. Since many almanacs and encyclopedias are now available on CD-ROM, they're even more helpful, handy, fun, and contain far more features than ever before.

Information on sources can be found on our source information/references page, and is also addressed to a lesser extent on individual biographical and autobiographical sources and references page.

Much of the precise birth and death data found here (such as, address of birth or death, or time of birth or death), has been confirmed--or corrected when necessary--by consulting birth and death records for those individuals. Since even these documents sometimes contain errors, we always confirm the data they contain with multiple independent sources. Firsthand accounts of the births or deaths are used in most other cases.

Internet Accuracy Project researchers utilize an extensive private collection of celebrity birth certificates, death certificates, obituaries, autobiographies, biographies, interviews, and other private and public documents. There are literally thousands of non-fiction and reference volumes in this collection. We've also personally conducted many celebrity interviews over the years and glean information from those archives as well.

Most of the biographical data contained at Internet Accuracy Project, has been checked, cross-checked, then checked again to ensure its accuracy. It is not unusual for our researchers to verify each individual piece of biographical data against as many as 20-30 extremely reliable sources before accepting it as factual. In many cases when biographical data is found to be completely contradictory, a copy of birth or death records has been obtained to ensure the accuracy of each listing.

Astrologers should know that much of the precise birth and death data would be comparable to AA (recorded by government birth or death records, or family) or A (stated by the person, family or close associate) on the Rodden System of Data Classification. In rare instances we will use data that would be comparable to a B classification (stated in a biography or autobiography) if that info can be corroborated by other sources. We would never knowingly use any info that would be the equivalent of a C or DD classification on the Rodden System.

Visit our submit info page if you have precise, detailed birth, death or genealogy information on celebrated individuals you'd like to share. If you have celebrity birth certificates, marriage certificates or death certificates you'd like to share with our organization, stop by our contact us page and click on the email link. We welcome and are grateful for all such submissions. Thank you in advance!

We accept absolutely no advertising! No ads, period! By accepting no advertising whatsoever, our organization is free to tell it like it is. Internet Accuracy Project relies on donations to run our various educational projects. Advertising banners and pop-up ads are a nuisance and will never be welcome here!

Many readers are understandably irritated by typographical errors in novels, but consider for a moment all those individuals who rely on reference books, almanacs, encyclopedias and other non-fiction works in their daily work. Unlike a publishing mistake found in a novel, the errors found in almanacs, textbooks and reference books have a costly effect on the businesses, students, researchers and other individuals who count on their accuracy. Errors in educational materials, while common, are simply unforgivable. Literally millions of man-hours are wasted as a result of erroneous data contained in reference sources.

While most publishers take their responsibility to deliver accurate publications seriously, others are quite lax in their fact checking. Publishers argue that they can't possibly check the validity of every last fact, and thus cannot be expected to deliver error-free publications every time. But this does not justify the sheer number of inaccuracies contained in their reference books and websites. In fact, leading online encyclopedias (some of which you must pay to access) actually have disclaimers and provide no warranty as to their accuracy.
Admittedly, editorial perfection in the publishing industry is virtually unattainable at this point in time.

The origin of the faulty data, be it the result of research oversight, deliberate falsification, or simple typo, is irrelevant. Regardless of whether the author, editor or publisher is ultimately to blame for the errors, the erroneous data exists, and must be addressed to prevent its further dissemination.

Absolutely. Consider making a monetary donation via PayPal. Visitors are not charged to read or use our content. We rely entirely on donations to fund our educational projects. Our ongoing costs include regular hardware and software updates, purchase of domain names, website hosting and maintenance, research, educational efforts, etc. We require funding to continue our pioneering role in improving the accuracy of the Internet, as well as reference sources in print. Remember, accuracyproject.org is a commercial-free environment, so we derive no income from advertising banners, or pop-up ads.

NOTE: Regardless of the size or source of a donation, our donors have no editorial influence over the project. Internet Accuracy Project will never accept donations or grants that make specific editorial demands.

If you have access to biographical source info such as celebrity birth certificates, celebrity death certificates, or marriage certificates for individuals of accomplishment, visit our contact us page to share them with us via email.

Consider donating biographies, autobiographies, and reference books you no longer have use for.

If you're a scholar with a passion for accuracy, check out our volunteer link for more info.

Every little bit helps. If you can only afford $5 or $10, realize that every penny donated via PayPal to Internet Accuracy Project is greatly appreciated and helps keep our organization running, and our site free to all users.
If you have extra items on hand such as a PDA, laptop, reference books, office supplies, postage, old computer equipment, etc. and would like to help support our organization, we would welcome them. If you're a graphic artist, printer or have other goods or services to donate, and would like to help support our educational efforts, check out our donation link for more info.

You could also help spread the word. If you have the ability to share information about Internet Accuracy Project in any media source, we would certainly appreciate your efforts.

Tell your friends and colleagues about Internet Accuracy Project. Word of mouth is a crucial component to our success.

Since we have visitors from many different time zones around the world, it is necessary for the computer on which you access the site to provide the local time and date. It is that time and date that appears here. If it's incorrect, then the date or time on your computer is incorrect.