Checking sources

- Look! Lady Dada is performing at our school! - Wow! ...who says? It’s on Leon’s Facepage. With a link to the school’s website. - Does this sound very likely? When we surf the net, read the news, or hear something unexpected, we must ask ourselves: is this true?

How do we know? To find out, we research where the information comes from. This is called a source. This movie for instance is the source you’re getting information from right now. A source can also be something written, a written source, or something that someone tells you — an oral source.

It’s important to assess whether the source is trustworthy, and how much they know about the subject. Then we know if we dare to trust the information. This is called source criticism. “Criticism” may sound like you’re complaining about something. But here “criticism” means evaluation, or assessment. We evaluate the information - see whether it seems to be true.

Source criticism is an important method in science and studies. Source criticism is also very important in daily life so that we don’t risk spreading false information or things that aren’t true. Whether it’s big or small news, or rumours we hear online or in real life, it can have severe consequences. One such false rumour is that a vaccine causes serious side effects. This has made several dangerous illnesses that previously were extinct more common again.

When false rumours are spreading they can be perceived as truth, since “everyone” has heard the rumour. It has happened that rumours about people, organisations — or even ethnic groups — have been widely spread. In some cases this has lead to persecutions and war. It’s easy to be drawn in when you hear something upsetting, funny, or exciting. We need to think - before we pass things on.

Source criticism is not only a method within science. It’s something everyone in a society should be aware of. It’s a way to look at the world, where you take responsibility for not spreading lies or false rumours. It’s important to know how close a source is to the origin of the information. A source who has personally experienced what they are describing is called a primary source.

Whereas a source that retells or repeats what someone else has said is a called a secondary source. News articles are often secondary sources; they retell what has happened to others. It’s preferable to find the primary source to be able to know whether something is trustworthy. Even if all the big newspapers report the same news item, they might have all got the information from the same primary source, like a news agency. Then the news item is less credible than if it had come from several different primary sources.

In the Lady Dada case, Leon is a secondary source, since he is spreading the information from someone else: a website. If we want to find out what’s really happening, asking Leon won’t be enough. Maria and Lina need to find the primary source. ...is this really the school’s homepage? Lots of spelling mistakes... What if we click here? - HAHA.

FOOLED YA. -Oh… Lady Dada is probably not coming. It’s easy to be drawn in when you read something fun. This is why it’s good to be extra careful when you hear something that you agree with, already believe, or really wish to be true. Then the risk is greater that you’re careless with your source criticism. - But I already bought the tickets!