Sources Policy
The internet is full of “ghost facts” — claims that people keep repeating until everyone assumes they’re true, even though nobody can remember who checked them first.
At Origin & Source, our goal is to eliminate ghost facts. We do that by being transparent about where our information comes from.
What counts as a source?
We don’t treat all information as equal. We rank our sources into four tiers.
– Tier 1 (Official & Primary): Direct documentation from government agencies, customs bureaus, national standards bodies, and international treaty organizations (like the WTO or FAO). If we’re talking about a country’s exports, we go to their customs data.
– Tier 2 (Institutional & Academic): Published, peer-reviewed research from universities, agricultural colleges, and recognized industry associations (like the International Coffee Organization or the International Olive Council).
– Tier 3 (Professional & Trade): Interviews with exporters, buyers, brokers, and inspectors who are currently active in the trade. Also includes proprietary wholesale price data and market reports.
– Tier 4 (Public-facing & Commercial): Brand websites, retail packaging, press releases, and marketing materials. We use these to show what is being claimed, but we never use them to verify a claim.
How we cite
We want you to be able to follow our trail.
– Direct links: Whenever a source is available online (a study, a report, a database), we link to it.
– In-text citations: We don’t hide sources in a bibliography at the bottom. We name them as we go: “According to the 2024 export figures from the [Department Name]…”
– Date-stamping: Information about prices, harvest volumes, and standards changes. We include the year (and often the month) for any time-sensitive data.
Identifying “The Story” vs. “The Fact”
In product origin, there is often a “story” (the marketing version) and a “fact” (the trade version).
Example: A brand says their tea is “Grown in the Himalayas.”
– The Story: This tea comes from a specific, high-altitude mountain farm.
– The Fact: “Himalayas” is a massive region covering five countries. The tea was grown in a low-altitude plantation in a province that touches the foothills, then packed in a city 500 miles away.
Our policy is to publish the Fact, while acknowledging the Story so you know you’re looking at the same product.
Verification status
We don’t just publish a fact; we tell you how sure we are of it. You’ll see these labels throughout our research:
– Verified: Multiple Tier 1 or Tier 2 sources agree.
– Well-Supported: Credible industry consensus, but lacking a primary government source.
– Reported: A common claim that we have not yet been able to verify independently.
– Disputed: Sources actively contradict each other. We’ll show you both sides.
Requests for removal
We do not remove factual, sourced information at the request of companies, producers, or government bodies.
We will, however, update information that is proven to be outdated or inaccurate. If you believe we have used a source incorrectly or cited an outdated figure, please contact us at [CONTACT EMAIL]. We will review the source and make a correction if necessary.
No “Circular Reporting”
We make every effort to avoid circular reporting — where Site A cites Site B, and Site B cites Site A, and neither actually did the research. If we can’t find the original source of a claim, we label it as “Reported” or don’t publish it at all.