---
title: "Sources and Evidence"
description: "Usually, different news sources came with different kinds of evidence. Outside experts were more likely to offer some proof for the claims (92% versus 81% overall) and to base their proof on the candidate’s public record (43% versus 31% overall). Journalists on the other hand, referred to the public record just 28% of the time […]"
date: "2000-07-27"
authors:
  - name: "Benjamin Wormald"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2000/07/27/sources-and-evidence/"
---

# Sources and Evidence

Usually, different news sources came with different kinds of evidence. Outside experts were more likely to offer some proof for the claims (92% versus 81% overall) and to base their proof on the candidate's public record (43% versus 31% overall).

Journalists on the other hand, referred to the public record just 28% of the time and offered no evidence 22% of time.

The candidates were the next most likely source to offer evidence (83%) and in doing so, referred to the public record (36%).

****

| Evidence Used by the Various Sources  |

|  | Journalist   (n=661)   | Candidate   (n=329)  | Surrogate   (n=160)  | Expert    (n=73)  | Voter    (n=45)  | Other Media(n=38) | Other    (n=24)   |

| Voter interaction | 3% | 1% | 6% | 2 | 16% | 0% | 17% |

| Public record | 28 | 36 | 28 | 43 | 20 | 16 | 29 |

| Recent remarks | 7 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 4 |

| Camp. platform | 8 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 |

| Tactics /rhetoric | 14 | 10 | 8 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 17 |

| Opponent attack | 6 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 |

| Friends' remarks | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |

| Past personal life | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 13 |

| Poll | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 |

| Other media | 2 | * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

| Other | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 |

|   |

| No evidence | 22 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 36 | 37 | 4 |

|   |
********************************
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |

---

**Next:** [The Internet](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2000/07/27/the-internet-2.md)