1. Source selection and corroboration
Use the most direct source that can establish the claim. A protocol release may be established by signed release notes; a regulatory action by the regulator's order or docket; a public-company event by a filed disclosure.
Use a second independent source when one record cannot establish the material fact, when the source has a direct interest in the claim, or when the story depends on interpretation rather than a discrete public record.
Social posts and screenshots may identify a lead. They are not substitutes for the underlying document, transaction or attributable statement.

