Who is talking?
Tell a first-hand source from a retelling, news from opinion and ads, and ask what a source knows and what it wants.
HOW FAR FROM THE SOURCE
Primary, secondary, tertiary
A primary source is the original: the study itself, the official statistic, the full video, the person who was there. A secondary source reports on it, like a news story about the study. A tertiary source summarises summaries: encyclopedias, "10 facts you didn't know" posts. Each retelling is a chance to drop a caveat.
A health ministry's yearly report is primary. A newspaper article about the report is secondary. An Instagram carousel built from the article is tertiary.
Study: "Eating walnuts was associated with a
slightly lower risk of heart disease."
News: "Walnuts cut heart disease risk."
Post: "Doctors PROVE walnuts prevent heart attacks."associated with -> causes -> proves
slightly lower -> cut -> preventNobody had to lie. Each retelling rounded the claim up a little. That's why it pays to go back to the first link in the chain.
Check yourself
A news website publishes an article describing a new study on sleep and memory. Which of these is the primary source?
- The news article
- The study itself, as published by the researchers
- A friend's tweet sharing the article
- The website's homepage
Show the answer
The study itself, as published by the researchers
Yes. The study is the original. The article is someone's retelling of it, and the tweet is a retelling of the retelling.
Three questions for any source
- Who is this? A person, a company, a government office, an anonymous account?
- How do they know? Were they there, did they measure it, or are they repeating someone?
- What do they want? To inform you, sell to you, persuade you, or get your click?
WHAT KIND OF PAGE
Not everything on a news site is news
A news report tries to describe what happened. An opinion column argues a view. A press release is written by the organisation itself. Sponsored content ("partner content", "advertorial") is an advert dressed as an article. Satire is a joke written to look like news, and it often gets shared as if it were real.
Look for small labels near the headline or byline: "Opinion", "Sponsored", "Partner", "Ad". They're easy to miss, and they change everything.
Check yourself
Match each piece to the kind of content it is
Show the answer
- "Fire closes the Karaj road for three hours, police say" → News report
- "Why our city should ban cars from downtown" by a columnist → Opinion
- "Our new yoghurt is proud to support healthy families" from the brand → Press release
- An article on skin care with a small "Partner content" label → Sponsored content
- "Government declares Mondays officially cancelled" on a joke site → Satire
EXPERT IN WHAT?
A title is not expertise in everything
"Dr.", "Professor" and "researcher" tell you someone is trained in something. They don't tell you it's the subject of the claim. A real cardiologist talking about the economy, or an engineer talking about vaccines, is speaking outside their field, where their opinion counts about as much as any careful reader's.
Ask: expert in what, exactly? A nutrition claim from a nutrition researcher carries weight. The same claim from a famous dentist on TV carries much less.
Check yourself
A famous heart surgeon posts a long thread on how to fix inflation, and it's shared thousands of times. What's the main problem with trusting it?
- Surgeons are not allowed to talk about money
- It's outside their expertise: being a great surgeon says little about economics
- Threads are always less reliable than articles
- Nothing: a doctor is an expert, so the advice is sound
Show the answer
It's outside their expertise: being a great surgeon says little about economics
Right. They may be brilliant at surgery. On inflation they're one more person with an opinion, and it deserves the checks any opinion gets.
Conflict of interest
When the source gains something if you believe the claim: money, sales, votes, reputation. It doesn't make the claim false. It means the claim needs confirmation from someone who doesn't gain.
A "study" showing a supplement boosts energy, paid for and published by the company that sells it. Not worthless, but wait for an independent test.
Check yourself
On a big news website you find an article, "5 foods that melt belly fat", with a small "Partner content" label at the top. What is it?
- A news report checked by the site's reporters
- An opinion column by a staff writer
- Advertising, even though it looks like news
- Satire
Show the answer
Advertising, even though it looks like news
Yes. "Partner content" means someone paid for it. The site's layout and logo don't mean its reporters checked it.
Check yourself
A study reports that eating more beans was "associated with" a lower risk of diabetes. Which headline overstates it?
- "Bean eaters had lower diabetes risk in large study"
- "Study links beans to lower diabetes risk"
- "Beans prevent diabetes"
- "More beans, less diabetes? A new study finds a link"
Show the answer
"Beans prevent diabetes"
Right. "Prevent" claims cause and effect. "Associated with" only means the two went together; people who eat more beans may differ in other ways too.
Common mistakes
- Judging a source by how professional the page looks. Good design is cheap.
- Trusting a source because you agree with it.
- Confusing "a news site published it" with "a news site's reporters checked it". It may be an opinion piece or an ad.
Check yourself
Someone in the group forwards a screenshot: "My cousin works at the hospital and says they're hiding the real numbers." Since you can't check it, you should treat it as false.
Show the answer
False
False. You can't check it, so it's unverified: not shown true, not shown false. The right move is not to believe it or pass it on until a source you can check reports the same thing.
Lesson recap
- A primary source is the original; each retelling can drop caveats and round the claim up.
- Ask any source: who is this, how do they know, and what do they want?
- News, opinion, press releases, sponsored content and satire can all sit on the same site.
- A title is expertise in one field, not every field.
- A conflict of interest means you need outside confirmation; an uncheckable source is unverified, not false.