Quackwatch Inc. is an American non-profit organization founed and operated by Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist, that aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" with a primary focus on providing "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere." Since 1996, it has operated a website, Quackwatch.org, which contains articles and other types of information criticizing many forms of alternative medicine. Quackwatch has received several awards and has been widely reported in the media. Numerous sources cite Quackwatch as a practical source for online consumer information. The site has also been regularly criticized by the groups it investigates, such as nutritionists, herbalists, homeopaths and other alternative medicine supporters.