Information Reliability

October 7th, 2020

How reliable or trustworthy is the information you read?

 

Today’s blog is a timely repost by Margaret Stewart, Director of HR and Administration.

There is a trend in today’s society of calling the news that one doesn’t like “fake”. This, however, is a dangerous trend, as it sends the wrong idea that just because information is not liked, it can just be dismissed. The even more reckless effect of this trend is that people may accept that any true and factual news heard that goes against personal beliefs may simply become “fake”. With some cases, this may not have a detrimental effect on society as a whole, but there are some instances where it very well could. Take, for instance, the anti-vaccination trend of recent years. People believe that vaccines are bad and no amount of facts or proof will sway people to vaccinate, sadly to the detriment of those too small or sick to be vaccinated themselves.

This trend of dismissing unpleasant news, however, is grounded in truth. There are in fact, false news stories out meant to mislead and hype audiences toward particular conclusions for a variety of reasons. So, how can one go about verifying that what is read is truth and not false, misleading, or rooted in bias? While in some instances, the folks at the show MythBusters have helped viewers determine fact from urban legend, and those at Snopes help to determine validity of true and false articles, not all stories can necessarily be proved true or false. This is where looking into precedence helps.

Throughout school, many of us were taught, and reinforced through much practice, to find good and credible sources and cite them. Today, this exercise is one that can help those who seek reliable information. When reading or viewing an article or story, pay attention the named source of the information. Also, pay attention to whether or not facts are displayed, and not where those facts came from. If names and organizations are unknown, a quick google search can tell you more. There are some highly respected news sites that, despite what some may say, have consistently and thoroughly reported true stories grounded in facts. While not all audiences like the stories, The following agencies are reliable and trustworthy and often issue retractions if anything is a story is incorrect: The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BBC, The Associated Press, NPR, and CNN, as well as many others.

At SafeSourcing, we believe in having true and reliable information for everything we undertake, and will use our knowledge and experience to find the best information for all of your sourcing projects. For more information on SafeSourcing and how we can help your organization, or on our Risk Free trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative. We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

 

 

If you thought this page is useful to your friend, use this form to send.
Friend Email
Enter your message