Unit 4 · Lesson 2
Sources that hold up
Tell a source that holds weight from one that just sounds official.
You ran the claim-check loop. Step 3 said "check it in an independent source." But that raises a sneaky question:
What makes a source good?
Because here's the trap: AI can invent sources too. "According to a 2019 Harvard study…" — with no such study. A fake source is a hallucination wearing a lab coat.
A source isn't strong because it sounds official. It's strong because you can trace it, and someone would be embarrassed if it were wrong.
One idea: closer to the original, harder to fake
Sources come in layers. The closer to where the fact was actually born, the stronger it is.
| Source type | What it is | How much to trust |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | The original — the study, the law, the person who was there | Strongest. Go here when it matters. |
| Secondary | Someone reporting on the primary (a news article, a textbook) | Good, if it links back to the primary. |
| Hearsay | "I heard…", a random post, an AI with no link | Weak. A starting clue, not a fact. |
Three fast tests for any source:
- Can I trace it? A real source leads somewhere — a name, a date, a document you can open.
- Who'd be embarrassed if it's wrong? A hospital, a court, a scientist with a reputation has skin in the game. An anonymous post doesn't.
- Does it link back? A trustworthy article shows its sources. If the trail dead-ends, be careful.
Do the thing
You're told: "Studies show teenagers who get more sleep score higher on tests."
Rank these three "sources" for that claim from strongest to weakest:
- A. A chatbot repeating it with no link.
- B. A news headline: "Sleep Boosts Teen Test Scores!"
- C. The actual research paper the headline is about, with the numbers in it.
Quick check. Strongest to weakest: C, B, A. The paper (C) is primary — you can read what they actually measured. The headline (B) is secondary and often exaggerated — real research says "we found a link in this group," headlines say "SLEEP BOOSTS SCORES!" The chatbot with no link (A) might be right, but you can't check, so it's just a clue. Notice B feels trustworthy because it's a "real news site" — but a confident headline is not the study.
Why this matters
Once you can rank sources, you stop being fooled by things that merely sound authoritative.
- "Sounds official" and "is reliable" are different things. Trace it, or treat it as a rumor.
- Headlines exaggerate; papers qualify. When a claim matters, click past the headline to what was actually found.
Next lesson is the deepest verification move of all — the single question that separates people who think from people who just defend: "What would change my mind?"