3 ms·

It's pretty simple really- don't trust anything you read online unless you have a good reason to do so. You'll build up sources you trust over time

• rootusrootus 5y ago
  It's pretty simple, just use your gut? This is hardly the foundation of good education.
  • deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
• andrewclunn 5y ago
  Nobody can "do their own research" and still have time to live, unless that's their whole job. This used to be the stated job of journalism, but that profession is now largely dead in ad or benefactor driven news agencies. Independent commentators, journalists, and writers are the only ones that have any hope of being trusted. They cannot institutionalize character and integrity. Glenn Greenwald and the intercept are the clearest examples. Your mind is built for empathy and understanding the sort of ways that an individual might lie or deceive you, and what might corrupt them. Institutions are like alien structures, which have their own mechanisms for corruption, which are far less intuitive, and much easier to hide behind layers of arbitrary bureaucracy and methodology. Ultimately, you cannot show a source is reliable, but you can show if one isn't. Sources that are up front about their biases and publicly admit errors get bonus points. Trust individuals, not institutions if for no other reason than because personal bias is the only form that you can intuit.