What triangulation of sources means
Launch library · evergreen read
Triangulation of sources means checking a claim against multiple independent sources before accepting it as reliable, on the reasoning that several unconnected sources arriving at the same conclusion is far more persuasive than any single source repeated many times, which underscores why the safeguard matters, however routine it may otherwise seem.
The key word is independent, since multiple outlets simply repeating the same original, unverified report does not actually provide triangulation, even if the claim appears to be everywhere, because they may all be tracing back to one unverified origin, a reminder that details matter enormously, which helps explain why it endures.
Effective triangulation involves actively checking whether sources genuinely gathered their own information separately, which is a more demanding but considerably more reliable standard than simply counting how many places a claim appears to be repeated, which is not always immediately apparent, a point that deserves more attention than it gets.