CNBC's Jim Goldman was wrong about Steve Jobs.
He has also been wrong about many other things. So while Goldman is attached to the CNBC brand and has been a recipient of numerous journalism awards, it is because of his past errors that I do not trust him. Yet others do.
My point is: think critically.
With the ease of publishing, critical thinking is not exercised as often as it should be, and that is a problem. It is 2009.
News sources are becoming more and more digitized. Information is easy to publish, and data spreads like wildfire. Journalists race against each other to break exclusive stories and scramble daily to appear on leaderboards of headline aggregating sites. When speed is required there will be certainly be mistakes -- especially as journalists are human too. As much as I want to trust the sources I once did, those days are long gone. The past achievements of journalists should be respected, but their credentials and pedigree must not equate to automatic credibility.
So now, it is up to us. Us, meaning me, you, everyone who participates in content sharing communities to think before we draw conclusions. Double, triple, even quadruple check sources before drawing conclusions or re-sharing the "hot topic". After all, it is now us -- the readers, that can make or break a story.
What is your credibility criteria? Which sites do you read the most and trust the most?
Read more by Mona Nomura at Pixel Bits