What "source transparency" means
Source transparency is the practice of making every load-bearing claim traceable to a named, dated, public source — and surfacing the source on the same page as the claim. It is the editorial-craft equivalent of showing your work.
Why it matters more in conflict reporting
- Conflict environments multiply the cost of a wrong claim.
- Conflict environments multiply the political payoff of a wrong claim that goes uncorrected.
- Conflict environments compress the time available to evaluate a claim before redistributing it.
- All three pressures push outlets toward unsourced or anonymous-sourced claims. Source transparency pushes back.
How to evaluate a source citation
- Is the source named?
- Is the source reachable — does the link still resolve?
- Is the source primary (e.g. an official statement, a court filing) or secondary (another outlet's coverage)?
- Does the source actually support the claim it is being cited for, or only a weaker version?