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Tracing Claims to Primary Sources Before Sharing

Before sharing a statistic or study finding, follow the citation chain to the primary source (the study, official report) instead of trusting whoever relayed it.

10 min Intermediate

Goal

Prevent spread of distorted numbers or findings through a relay chain that never returns to the original.

Steps

1

When you see a numeric claim ("a study proved that..."), ask: who said this first? Search for the link to the source.

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Expected Outcome

Immediate

You most often discover a gap between the circulating number and the actual figure in the original source.

Evidence base

School: Civic Online Reasoning / Information Literacy

Founders: Sam Wineburg · Soroush Vosoughi (MIT) (2018)

Vosoughi and colleagues' MIT study (Science, 2018) proved false news spreads significantly faster and wider than true news on social media. Wineburg's "lateral reading" method recommends tracing back to the original source as a core verification step.

Frequently asked questions

How long does "Tracing Claims to Primary Sources Before Sharing" take?

This exercise takes about 10 minutes, practiced solo in a Behavioral format.

When will I notice the effect of "Tracing Claims to Primary Sources Before Sharing"?

You most often discover a gap between the circulating number and the actual figure in the original source. In the short term: You stop posting statistics later found distorted or from a different context.

Is "Tracing Claims to Primary Sources Before Sharing" evidence-based?

Yes — it draws on Civic Online Reasoning / Information Literacy (Sam Wineburg, Soroush Vosoughi (MIT) (2018)). Vosoughi and colleagues' MIT study (Science, 2018) proved false news spreads significantly faster and wider than true news on social media. Wineburg's "lateral reading" method recommends tracing back to the original source as a core verification step.

Is "Tracing Claims to Primary Sources Before Sharing" suitable for beginners?

Its difficulty level is: Intermediate. No external tools required — it can be practiced directly inside the app.

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