Media literacy
How to Check Whether a News Source Is Reliable
Use a practical source-checking workflow to trace claims, inspect evidence, and distinguish reporting from unsupported repetition.
Start with one claim
A source can publish a well-supported article and a weak one on the same day. Begin with the particular claim you are trying to verify, not a permanent good-or-bad label for the whole outlet. Write the claim in a sentence that could be checked: who did what, where, and when? “The city approved a transport plan on Tuesday” is easier to investigate than “The city has fixed transport.”
Find the evidence trail
Look for named documents, data, recorded remarks, and identifiable witnesses. Follow links to the material itself where possible. A report that cites a proposal does not establish that the proposal became law. A company announcement establishes what the company announced, but not necessarily whether its product performs as claimed. Note whether the article separates evidence, interpretation, and unanswered questions.
Leave the page to investigate
Open another tab and check who publishes the site, how its reporting is described elsewhere, and whether the author has relevant work you can inspect. Ownership, corrections, and contact information are useful context, but a professional-looking about page is not proof. Compare the article with an independent source that has done its own reporting. Ten websites repeating one press release are still one underlying source.
Watch for missing context
Check publication and update dates, quoted passages, geographic scope, and denominators in statistics. A rise from two cases to four is a doubling, but it is also an increase of two. An old photograph can accurately show an event while misleading readers about when it happened. If a headline sounds much more certain than the body, use the narrower claim supported by the evidence.
Decide what you can responsibly conclude
Use a short note: supported, uncertain, contradicted, or not checked. Add the strongest evidence and what would change your judgment. For example: “The council voted for the plan; funding and construction dates remain unconfirmed.” This is more useful than forwarding the article with a sweeping claim. When a source corrects its reporting, update your note as well. A visible correction is information about the reporting process, not something to ignore.