25 JanuaryNews Literacy Day · IM Lab marks it every year in memory of Sir Mark Tully. First edition 25 January 2027. · in memory of Sir Mark Tully
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News & media

Source

Where a piece of information comes from: a person, a document, a record or a recording.

1 Basic

What it means

A source is where information comes from. It can be a person who saw something, a document, an official record, a photo or a recording. When you know the source, you can ask: how does this person or place know?

Why it matters

Every message, video and news story starts somewhere. If you cannot find the source, you cannot check it. Asking "Who said this, and how do they know?" is the first step of news literacy.

2 Key concept

A story from the epics

In the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas could not defeat their teacher Drona. Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwatthama and shouted, "Ashwatthama is dead!" Drona's son was also called Ashwatthama. Drona did not believe Bhima. He asked Yudhishthira, who was known never to lie. Yudhishthira said, "Ashwatthama is dead," and then said very softly, "the man or the elephant." Drona did not hear the last words. He believed his son was dead and put down his weapons.

Drona did one smart thing: he checked with a trusted source. But he did not hear the full message, and he did not ask a second question. Even a trusted source can give you only part of the truth.

Source: Mahabharata, Drona Parva. Details such as the conch drowning out the last words come from popular retellings.

A story from today

A common example in India: a screenshot that looks like a news channel says "Schools closed tomorrow" and spreads in parent groups. Often the real source is not the channel at all. The reliable source is the school's own message or the official order. A real order says who issued it, when, and where it is published.

What if...? Climb the question ladder

Each question leads to the next. Try to answer it yourself before you open it.

  1. 1What if my best friend sends it? Isn't that a source?

    Your friend is the person who sent it, not the source. Ask your friend where they got it. Keep asking until you reach the first person, document or recording.

  2. 2What if I cannot find where it started?

    Then treat it as unverified. You do not have to believe it, and you should not forward it.

  3. 3What if two websites say the same thing?

    Check if they are copying each other. Two sources help only if each one found the facts on its own.

  4. 4What if the source is a famous person?

    Famous does not mean correct. Ask: is this person an expert on this topic, and how do they know?

Try this

Pick one forward from your family group. With a parent, try to trace it back to its first source. Write down each step. Did you reach a person, a document or a recording, or did the trail go cold?

3 Go deeper

IM Lab books & programmes

Workshops & cyber clubs

Related terms

Attribution (page being written)Lateral Reading (page being written)Reliable Source (page being written)Verification (page being written)Forwarded Many Times (page being written)

All letters A to Z