Which is a concise framework of five critical questions you should ask about any information claim?

• A. Who is the source and who funded it? What is the claim and what evidence supports it?
• B. Who is the source and who funded it? What is the claim and what evidence supports it? Is it corroborated by independent sources? What is the purpose or bias? What is the date and relevance, and what are alternative explanations?
• C. What is the main claim, who benefits, and how widely is it cited?
• D. When was it published and by whom?

Answer: (B)

Evaluating any information claim is about running through a practical five-question check: who is the source and who funded it, what is the claim and what evidence supports it, is it corroborated by independent sources, what is the purpose or bias, and what is the date and relevance, plus what are alternative explanations. This framing ensures you assess credibility (who and who funded it), the strength of the support (the claim and its evidence), verification (independent corroboration), motivation or bias (why it’s presented), and timeliness or relevance (when it was created and how it fits the context, including considering other explanations). The other choices don’t cover all these essential aspects: they either miss important elements like independent verification and bias, or focus only on limited aspects such as who benefits or publication details, without giving a full, concise framework for evaluating credibility and evidence.