CRAAP Test

The CRAAP Test serves to assist internet users in determining if a source is credible or not credible. For journalists especially, this test is extremely important for choosing which online sources to use in a journalistic story. There are five CRAAP Test criteria, and within these are questions that journalists must ask themselves before using an online source in a story.

The hardest CRAAP Test criterion to evaluate is accuracy. While there have been falsified statements online for as long as the internet has existed, our current age is filled with widespread misinformation. This makes it extremely difficult for one to determine what is and is not true on the internet. For example, an internet user can publish a website that says that groundbreaking research found a cure for a certain disease. However, other sources can dispute this claim. This is a common occurrence on the internet, and people can be confused by contradictory information. Additionally, anybody can post anything on the internet, and there have been instances of news outlets falling for untrue statements.

A source that meets all CRAAP Test criteria can still very well be misleading and/or biased. A lot of news sources nowadays are skewed to one side of the political spectrum, so even if the facts are true and verifiable, there could still be cognitive tricks that slant the story to one side or the other. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that no method, even one as thorough as the CRAAP Test, is 100% foolproof when determining the quality of sources. Journalists and non-journalists alike need to understand that any framework can still have bad sources slip through the cracks. Resources such as the CRAAP Test are just the start to determining if a source can be used in a journalistic medium.