Tip 660: Claims and the Reliability of the Source

From the Critical Thinking Workshops: Claims and the Reliability of the Source 

A caution: Our point with this tip is that the credibility of a claim depends on the reliability of the source. We’ve tried to balance our examples, but in this divided climate, that’s a tough task. Bear with us. We recognize some may not agree. We appreciate that.

We’ve been talking about tests for claims. We’ve talked about logic and context. 

This time, we’ll talk about the reliability of the source. 

Think “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

What happened? He falsely cried “WOLF!” so often that no one believed him when he cried “WOLF!” for real. And he wound up being eaten by wolves.*

Credibility, once lost, is almost impossible to regain. The doubts will always be there. 

CBS News discovered that when they reported an unvetted claim on President George W. Bush and his National Guard service.**

Fox News discovered that when they aired unsourced video footage on a Sarah Palin book tour.***

Check the source. Is it reliable? Does it have a credible track record? 

If not, be careful. Be skeptical. Failures fall across the spectrum.  

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* A test for the claim: The boy was probably not eaten by wolves: “The risk of wolves attacking or killing people is low.” Colorado State University, “Wolves and Human Safety,” https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/people-predators/wolves-and-human-safety-8-003/

** A test for the claim: Report of the Independent Review Panel, Dick Thornburgh and Louis D. Boccardi, January 5th, 2005, http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/complete_report/CBS_Report.pdf

*** A test for the claim: “Fox News again accused of airing misleading video.” https://web.archive.org/web/20091122014734/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20091119/ts_ynews/ynews_ts988