Source Standards

The credibility of They Knew rests entirely on the quality of its sources. We maintain strict standards for what qualifies as acceptable evidence and how that evidence is evaluated.

What Types of Sources We Accept

• Official government publications — Reports, press releases, and public statements from government agencies at any level (federal, state, local, international).
• Declassified documents — Documents released through declassification programs, including CIA Reading Room, NSA archives, UK National Archives, and equivalent programs in other countries.
• Court filings and judgments — Rulings, opinions, depositions, and exhibits from federal, state, or international courts. Must be sourced from official court records (PACER, court websites, or verified legal databases).
• Legislative records — Congressional hearing transcripts, committee reports, and official legislative records (congress.gov, Hansard, EU Parliament records).
• Peer-reviewed academic research — Studies published in indexed, peer-reviewed journals. Preprints are accepted only as supplementary evidence, never as a primary source.
• Investigative journalism — In-depth reporting from credible news organizations with named reporters, identified sources, and editorial oversight. Op-eds and opinion pieces do not qualify.
• FOIA releases — Documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests or equivalent transparency laws in other jurisdictions.
• Expert testimony — Public statements from credentialed experts (academic, scientific, medical, legal) given under oath or in an official professional capacity. Credentials must be verifiable.

What We Do Not Accept

• Anonymous blog posts or forum comments
• Social media posts without corroborating primary sources
• Self-published books without independent verification
• YouTube videos, podcasts, or documentaries as sole evidence
• Screenshots without verifiable originals
• Sources behind paywalls with no alternative access
• AI-generated content or deepfakes

Source Hierarchy

Sources are ranked by evidentiary weight. When multiple sources support a claim, the highest-ranked source determines the overall evidence grade. A single Rank 1 source outweighs multiple Rank 7 sources.

How Sources Are Verified

1. Link validation — Every submitted URL is checked for accessibility. Dead links are flagged and the submitter is asked to provide an archived version (Wayback Machine, archive.today, or equivalent).
2. Authenticity check — Documents are cross-referenced against known archives and databases. For government documents, we verify against the issuing agency's official records. For court documents, we verify against PACER or equivalent court systems.
3. Relevance assessment — The source must directly support the specific claim being made. A tangentially related document is not sufficient.
4. Archival — Accepted sources are archived internally to prevent link rot. Original URLs are preserved alongside archived copies.
5. Classification — Each source is assigned a rank in the Source Hierarchy and tagged with metadata (type, date, issuing body, jurisdiction).

How to Submit Sources

Any registered user can submit sources. To ensure quality:

1. Navigate to the claim you want to add a source to, or submit a new claim with a source attached.
2. Provide the direct URL to the source document. If the source is not available online, describe it in detail and provide as much identifying information as possible (title, date, author, issuing body, document number).
3. Briefly explain how the source supports or contradicts the claim.
4. Select the source type from the dropdown (Government Admission, Declassified Document, Court Judgment, etc.).
5. Submit. Your source will enter the verification pipeline and be reviewed by moderators.

High-quality source submissions improve your contributor trust level, which unlocks additional platform privileges over time.