Source Quality Guide
The same link can do different jobs. A low-credibility source may document what a movement claims, while a court record or technical report may establish what actually happened.
Primary Records
StrongestCourt filings, declassified documents, official reports, agency audits, archived records, scientific data, source code, technical logs, and authenticated correspondence.
Independent Expert Analysis
HighPeer-reviewed research, forensic analysis, technical reports, inspector-general findings, and named experts explaining the limits of the evidence.
Accountability Journalism
High/MediumReputable investigations that reconstruct timelines, identify sources, link documents, and clearly separate reporting from interpretation.
Books and Documentaries
ContextUseful for history and narrative context, but strongest when they cite documents readers can inspect independently.
Movement Sources
Claim RecordUseful for documenting what believers claim. They are not treated as proof unless independently corroborated.
Screenshots and Social Posts
Weak AloneGood for showing spread or rhetoric. Weak for proving provenance, causation, identity, chain of command, or hidden intent.
How This Changes a Verdict
Occurrence: Did the event, program, document, or harm exist?
Attribution: Who did it, who knew, and what records prove the chain of responsibility?
Scale: Does the evidence prove the limited fact or the larger viral claim?
Browse the live source-domain explorer or read the methodology.