I have a variety of techniques I use in determining whether or not a statement I read is likely to be true or false.
Please enlighten me.
Give this guy a break please! He never said it was true, didn't post it in "breaking News", and thought we may find it interesting. It was sourced, and though the source isn't the most reliable, I for one hold out a slim hope that the rumour is true. Granted he should have posted it as a rumour. He meant no harm, stop beatin up on him. I'm sure he got your point.
I'm not going to tell you what you should read,
That’s exactly what you were attempting to do when you told the person who posted this, “You should wait until it hits Reuters or the AP first next time.”
If you don’t want to read things that haven’t been verified by Reuters or AP, don’t. But don’t tell other people not to post articles from outside that sphere. Many of us are interested.
I have a variety of techniques I use in determining whether or not a statement I read is likely to be true or false.
Please enlighten me.
Good Lord, you really are at a “Reading News 101” level!
Well, for starters, try to use knowledge previously gained and evaluated as reliable to begin to gauge the reliability of new information.
Also, consider the source of the information. They could be a dubious source that has previously shown themselves to be unreliable or biased (like Reuters or the AP) or they could be a new source that you are not familiar with (like IDAO).
If the source is not one you trust for one of these reasons, try to find other sources that confirm the new information. If you are able to find a variety of sources that confirm the information, it is likely (but not assured) that the information is correct.
There are more subtle techniques that you can employ later (like clues in the terminology used that point towards an unstated agenda, for example), but try the simple ones first to get started.
Good luck to you!