Credibility
You should assume, until you can prove otherwise, that all sources start with zero to no credibility - credibility is earned over time.
If a source has credibility, it is believable or worthy of trust; regularly provides information that is reliable and valid; has a level of expertise either in subject matter or as a journalist who regularly covers a given topic.
For example, you trust your friend and they have never lied to you; if your friend tells you there is a dinosaur riding a bicycle you would be inclined to trust them.
For example, you trust your friend and they have never lied to you; if your friend tells you there is a dinosaur riding a bicycle you would be inclined to trust them.
Validity
If a source has validity, it has a reasonable basis in logic or fact; has assertions that are shown to be true or factual over time; is supported by multiple credible sources.
Determining validity requires you to seek out credible sources that can verify the information. You will have to do a few credibility checks to help you determine how valid the information is. If you can find credible sources disproving the information, you have an invalid claim or article. The more credible sources that support what you have found, the more validity a claim or article has. Articles and claims with high validity gain more credibility. You will want and need to check multiple sources to determine if your value is a positive or negative, then you can use the scale to the right to determine the validity of an article's claim. |
Now, back to that friend and the dinosaur riding the bicycle...
If your friend tells you there is a dinosaur riding a bicycle, you might believe them if the friend has high credibility with you. However, the claim may not sound valid. But if you go look in the street and see a dinosaur riding a bicycle, you may find it to be valid.
Although it's not quite what you expected, the original claim was (more or less) proven to be from a credible source and have validity. As it wasn't what you expected, this shows you the need to always check - even if it is from the most credible source that has never failed a validity check. |