When trying to determine whether or not an information source is a reliable source, look for the following features of credible publications.
Quality Information Sources:
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Cost Money
Determine the publication type and check for paywalls and subscription fees. Quality publications used to provide a lot of valuable information for free online; that is no longer the case. It’s expensive to send people to witness events and interview those affected by those events. It’s cheap to have opinions and post them online; on the internet, you get what you pay for. Exceptions exist, like the publicly-funded NPR and the nonprofit news outlet ProPublica, but they use alternate funding models and donations, not ads-only support, to produce quality reporting.
To gain access to articles behind paywalls, use our library databases; if our library doesn’t own a publication, place an interlibrary loan request. The ILL system will often email you a pdf of the article in a few days.
Receive Outside Validation
Check the publication on at least two sites that evaluate media for reliability and biases:
For additional validation, you might search the publication’s name in the UW-Madison Libraries search bar. While it’s not a perfect proxy for quality, inclusion in the library’s databases suggests a publication has at least some editorial integrity.
You can also check whether other publications you trust have raised questions about this publication or its biases. For publications relevant to your field, look in trade publications and/or professional organization websites/blogs/newsletters, and business magazines and newspapers, to see if they have recommended or mentioned your source.
Acknowledge Mistakes
Look for evidence that the publication issues corrections. For example, The New York Times maintains a page with recent corrections and a searchable archive of all corrections.
Use a Fact-Checking Process
Check whether the publication has a fact-checking process they apply to every article. Systematic fact-checking reduces the likelihood of incorrect facts and claims appearing in a publication’s articles. For example, The Washington Post’s editorial policy discusses its rules for fact-checking and avoiding conflicts of interest.
Provide Dates & Publish Regularly
Look for recent article or post dates. Publications that don’t date material or don’t publish regularly are usually less credible.
Publish Original Reporting
Check to see that the publication publishes original work. Some sites aggregate or repost work from credible sources. Here is an example of an article that simply paraphrases reporting from another site. In addition, popular podcasters and youtubers often discuss the news; it’s always better to go to the original article rather than relying on someone’s take on the article.
Use Quality Evidence
Examine how the publication uses evidence in several articles. Are they interviewing experts and linking to articles or reports from credible organizations? Do they send reporters to witness events where they take place? Do they have bureaus around the world?
Keep in mind that any single article can look better and follow higher standards for evidence than the average coverage that the publication provides. Examine multiple articles and use a couple of the above strategies to confirm credibility.