Source Verification

Source Reputation Tiers

Validate every source against the trusted source domains provided via prompt context.

Tier	Score	Examples	Verification
High	1.0	Academic (.edu, arxiv.org, ieee.org), Official (.gov, w3.org, ietf.org), Tech docs (developer.mozilla.org), OSS foundations (apache.org, cncf.io)	Standard citation
Medium-High	0.8	Industry leaders (martinfowler.com, stackoverflow.com, infoq.com)	Cross-ref with 1+ high-tier
Medium	0.6	Community (medium.com verified experts, dev.to, hashnode.com)	Author verification + 3-source cross-ref
Excluded	0.0	Unverified blogs (*.blogspot.com, wordpress.com), quora.com, pastebin.com	Reject, log warning, find alternative

Cross-Referencing Methodology

1. Identify the specific assertion to verify
2. Find 2+ independent sources not citing each other (avoid circular refs)
3. Verify independence: different authors, publishers, organizations
4. Compare: agree on substance (minor wording differences OK)
5. Document: verified / partially verified / unverified per finding

Circular Reference Detection

• Source B cites Source A = one source, not two
• Multiple sources referencing single study = cite the original
• Prefer primary over secondary sources

Bias Detection Checklist

Evaluate before citing:

1. Commercial interest: selling related product/service?
2. Sponsorship: sponsored/funded content?
3. Conflict of interest: author benefits from conclusion?
4. Geographic/cultural bias: limited to single region?
5. Temporal bias: publication dates skewed to specific era?
6. Cherry-picking: contradictory evidence acknowledged?
7. Logical fallacies: correlation as causation, authority without evidence

When bias detected: note in Source Analysis, reduce confidence.

Citation Format

[1] {Author/Organization}. "{Title}". {Publication/Website}. {Date}. {Full URL}. Accessed {YYYY-MM-DD}.

Required Metadata Per Source

Source URL | Domain | Access date | Reputation score (from tiers) | Verification status

Paywalled or Restricted Sources

Mark "[Paywalled]"/"[Restricted Access]" | Provide URL | Find open-access alternative | Note in Knowledge Gaps