Key Steps to Validate Source Credibility

Sifting through the vast abundance of images, news stories, and videos and having the critical ability to discern authentic and balanced content is now more essential than ever. I find myself feeling overwhelmed when I do searches for certain topics, especially those on politics.

How do I know if the source is reliable?

• Assess the Credibility of the Author or Organization: Make sure to check the credentials and reputation of the author or organization. You'll likely find reliable information from authors with relevant expertise and reputable organizations.

• Assess the Source’s Reputation: It's always a good idea to check the reputation of your information sources. Generally, well-established and widely recognized publications are more reliable.

• Consider the Currency of Information: Information should be as current as possible, especially in fields that have rapid innovation, like technology or medicine.

• Check for Citations & References: Credible sources cite their information, allowing you to verify the data through the references.

• Look for Bias & Objectivity: This area is more complex. Reliable sources provide information based on evidence and facts. However, readers should do their due diligence when it comes to fact-checking. They can use these fact-checking websites.: www.factcheck.org, www.snopes.com, https://www.opensecrets.org/, https://www.newsbusters.org/, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fact-checker/, https://www.mediamatters.org/

• Domain Extensions: Make a note of the domain extensions of the website, like .edu, .gov, or .org, which can sometimes indicate the nature of the source or organization.

• Any Peer Reviewing: Check if the content has been peer-reviewed by experts in the field.
  

Conclusion

Having more than one verification criterion increases the chances of a source being reliable.

Thus, it's best to use a combination of the above steps to evaluate the credibility of the source in question.