What is authority?

At the root of “authority” is the word author. So start there: who wrote the piece of information you’re reading? Why are they writing? What stake do they have in the information they’re presenting? What are their credentials (you can straight up google their name to learn more about them)? Who are they affiliated with? A public organization? A university? A company trying to make a profit? 

• Who is the author/publisher/source?
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
• Is the author qualified to write on this topic?
• Check the About us section.
• If words like “.wordpress” or “blogger” are in the domain that usually means it’s a blog rather than a news source.  You'll want to verify the information with credible sources.
• Be wary of variations of well-known websites, such as “.com.co,” this is usually a sign that the website is a fake version of a website. However, it can also be a foreign domain name from a reputable source. 
• For determining the source of a picture, do a reverse image search.  
• Remember that likes and shares do not equal authority on a topic.

Note: 

These are elements and questions to think through as you assess the authority of your source or information.  They need to be taken into account along with other factors. They are one piece of the whole picture about the information you are gathering.

Identifying the type of information can help determine the authority of the source.

Popular source: Popular sources refer to sources that are widely available to the general public.  Magazines and newspapers are considered popular sources.

Trade publication: Trade publications are sources that are published in a specific field.  They may or may not be written by experts, but they are almost always written by and for those within the same field of study. For example, Library Journal, Antique Trader, Dentistry Magazine, Game Industry Report. 

Scholarly or Academic source: Scholarly or Academic sources are published in academic journals.  They are accessed through institutions such as a college or library.  Scholarly articles are written by an expert for an audience of other experts, researchers or students.

Peer-reviewed source: a process by which a scholarly work (such as a paper or a research proposal) is checked by a group of experts in the same field to make sure it meets the necessary standards before it is published or accepted