Origin and repeat: counting corroboration

Why forty outlets repeating one briefing count as one origin.

Corroboration is only meaningful when sources are independent. A claim repeated by many outlets can still rest on a single statement. 7Analytica follows each claim to its first appearance and marks every other report as a repeat unless it adds sourcing of its own.

How a report is classified

1. Origin: the first report, or a report with its own sourcing such as a document, a named witness or its own observation.
2. Primary: the document or statement itself, when a reader can open it.
3. Repeat: a report that relays an earlier one without adding anything.

What the limits are

Classification depends on what can be seen. A repeat that hides its source can look like an origin. When origin cannot be established, the record says so and does not guess.