If you want to stop getting played online, learn this one difference.
Records are what happened.
Commentary is what someone says it means.
Most misinformation is just commentary dressed up like a record.
What a primary source is
A primary source is the original material created at the time of the event or process.
It is not someone talking about it later. It is the thing itself.
Examples:
- A court filing or court transcript
- A law, regulation, or official policy document
- An Inspector General report
- A government dataset or official results report
- A full speech video or full hearing recording
- An original email, memo, or directive, with provenance
Primary sources are not automatically true. They can be wrong or incomplete. But they are checkable.
What commentary is
Commentary is interpretation, analysis, opinion, or narrative layered on top of records.
Commentary can be useful. It can also be manipulative.
Examples:
- A pundit’s take on a court case
- A YouTube breakdown of a report
- A viral thread summarizing a hearing
- A meme that claims a document “proves” something
- A podcast clip with dramatic conclusions
Commentary is where people sneak in assumptions, exaggerations, and spin.
The simplest test
Ask one question.
Can I click through to the original record?
If the answer is no, you are not looking at evidence. You are looking at someone’s story about evidence.
If you want a quick framework for this site, start with Evidence vs Rumors and How We Verify.
Why people confuse the two
Because commentary is easier to consume.
It is short. It is emotional. It tells you what to think.
Records are harder.
They are long. They are technical. They force you to read the boring parts.
Misinformation wins when people never touch the record.
Common tricks that turn commentary into fake “evidence”
- The cropped quote. A sentence removed from the paragraph that explains it.
- The edited clip. The ten seconds that change the meaning of the full minute.
- The screenshot. A picture of text with no source link and no context.
- The “expert said” move. Authority replaces documentation.
- The leap. A real fact gets used to justify a conclusion the fact does not support.
These tricks work because they keep you away from the original record.
For the practical version, use How To Verify A Quote, Reading A Court Docket, and Why Screenshots Aren’t Evidence.
How to use primary sources without losing your mind
You do not need a law degree. You need a method.
- Start with the claim. Write it as one sentence.
- Find the record. The filing, transcript, report, or dataset.
- Search inside the document. Use key terms and section headings.
- Check what it actually proves. Not what someone says it proves.
- Look for limits. Dates, scope, definitions, and what is not covered.
If the record does not prove the claim directly, the claim is not proven.
Bottom line
Records are the ground. Commentary is the weather.
Weather changes fast. Ground does not.
If you want truth, train yourself to touch the ground.
If you think you have real documentation for a major public claim, bring it to the 10K Truth Challenge.