The process of assessing and confirming the identity, credibility, reliability and relevant expertise or access of human or institutional sources used in reporting, including corroboration of claimed affiliations, review of a source's prior work or record where relevant, and evaluation of incentives, conflicts, or possible biases that affect trustworthiness.

Principle

Source Verification determines whether and how a source's information can be used as evidence by establishing identity, affiliation, track record and any corroborating evidence, and by calibrating the degree of corroboration or disclosure required.

Demonstration

Illustrative scenario: A reporter cites an anonymous government official on a sensitive matter. The verification process confirms the official's position via institutional directories and a secondary on‑the‑record source, assesses motives for anonymity, and the editor decides on publication terms and disclosure to readers.

Misapplication

Mistaken view: Assuming that mere naming of a source or the presence of an email address suffices to establish credibility. The error treats surface identifiers as substitutes for verification of affiliation, access, and incentive structures.

Consequence

Thorough source verification increases the reliability of published information, clarifies which claims require corroboration or anonymisation, and reduces legal and ethical risk; inadequate verification risks publishing untrustworthy claims and undermines accountability.

Reversal

When sources must remain anonymous to expose wrongdoing or protect safety, full identity verification may be impossible to disclose; editors must then rely on corroboration, institutional knowledge, and internal documentation to assess reliability while managing disclosure and risk.

Boundary

Clearly within: vetting named human or institutional sources whose testimony or documents are used as evidence in reporting. Boundary case: social media accounts that provide leads—may require technical verification (metadata, geolocation) and corroboration. Clearly outside: use of public, independently verifiable records (though such records themselves may require separate verification).

Semantic Tension

Confidentiality ↔ Accountability: Protecting a source's anonymity can be essential for safety and public interest but reduces the level of external accountability and increases the outlet's internal verification burden.

Synthesis

Source Verification is a risk‑calibration practice: it does not only confirm identity but assigns a reliability grade to information based on affiliation, access and incentives, thereby determining what corroboration, attribution or disclosure an outlet must require.