this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2024
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Showerthoughts

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[–] Gamoc@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

....yes...but you do understand a journalist is someone who writes/reads news right? They're not just sat around with sources for no reason, those sources are specifically so they can report news...that's the point. What do you think a source is!?

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm not sure I understand your point. Essentially the only point that I was making was that for what's written to not be considered conjecture, any claims that it makes must be cited ^[1]^.

References

  1. "conjecture". Merriam-Webster. Accessed: 2024-12-11T08:47Z. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conjecture.

    inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence

[–] Gamoc@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Your original post asks if you're a journalist for fact checking articles, we got to these comments from that.

Where do you think sources end? If I mention that biden is currently president, do I need a source linked? If 1+1 is 2, do I need to provide a source? Do I need to source the definitions of every word? Do I need a source that vaccines don't cause autism? That 5g doesn't cause COVID?

It's hard to discuss this without knowing what text you're referring to, and if I go back to check if you mentioned it I'll lose my comment because I'm using an app. Some things don't need sourcing because they're accepted facts, like who the president is, basic science, simple maths, etc, but most important, the things that an article should always cite are the claims the article itself is making. I wouldn't cite sources for 5G not causing covid, for example, unless the article was specifically about that.

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

[…] Some things don’t need sourcing because they’re accepted facts […]

It think it, at least, depends on context. Personally, I strive to cite any claim that I make.

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

[…] I wouldn’t cite sources for 5G not causing covid, for example, unless the article was specifically about that.

How come? If one's knowledge of a topic derives from a location, I think one should cite that location when discussing that topic, otherwise it's just conjecture.

[–] Gamoc@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Same reason I don't provide a source magic and wizards and fairy tales not existing. Anyone stupid enough to believe obvious rubbish doesn't care what your source is.

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

[…] Where do you think sources end? […]

For anything practical, I don't think it's possible to give an exact answer to that — in practice, I think that, at the very least, making a conscious effort to maximize accuracy and minimize bias would go a long way. Imo, it gets tricky rather quick when debates of the veracity of sources themselves begins.

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

[…] If I mention that biden is currently president, do I need a source linked? If 1+1 is 2, do I need to provide a source? Do I need to source the definitions of every word? Do I need a source that vaccines don’t cause autism? That 5g doesn’t cause COVID? […]

In an ideal world, imo, yes, those all would be cited.