Credible/Reliable. Help?!!?

[Sara Leen Marshall!!!!!!!!!!58]

1.) why do you need to verify the source of information to know whether the information is credible?
2.) Who is more credible to get information from about cardiac disease, Dr. Oz or Oprah? Why--- think of the persons expertise?
3.) give an example of a credible source?

[Model Pilot]

1. If a newspaper headline said smoking was good for you, because the RJ Reynolds Company says so, do you need to know that RJ Reynolds Co. manufactures cigarettes? Lots and lots of cigarettes? There is a high degree of "misinformation" or lying in our society right now...any claim can get traction in social media and live a long time, no matter how wacky. Caveat lector is a reader's version of caveat emptor (let the reader beware (lector) versus let the buyer beware) and is just as old and valid a piece of advice.
2. Since Dr. Oz really is a cardiothoracic surgeon and it is easy to find that out via a search, and Oprah is not and would have to get any information from other sources and then pass it on with perhaps things getting lost or twisted, Dr. Oz is more credible. Dr. Oz also will have malpractice insurance, while Oprah will claim it was all in the cause of entertainment.
3. Tom Brokaw can tell you all about NBC News and how it has functioned, since he worked there for many, many years. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta can warn about the incidence of diseases and precautions to take since they are a government agency with no products that they sell or endorse and no local image to protect.