The 500-word article that cited a 404 page as its main source

Found a trending piece about solar panel rebates in Tucson that linked to a dead government page, yet three other outlets ran the same numbers without checking. I clicked the link, got the error, then found the actual state program and the rebate was half what they claimed. So is the standard practice here to trust the first outlet's source, or do we treat every broken link as a red flag and dig deeper?

2 comments

2 Comments

green.noah1d ago

So we're just supposed to take a number that literally doesn't exist on the internet anymore and call it fact? Broken links are basically the digital version of a guy yelling at you from across the street, you gotta assume he's half wrong until you walk over and read the sign yourself.

hugotaylor2d ago

The Tucson rebate figure was off by $1,200 when I checked the actual state program, which tracks with my luck. Last week I booked a hotel based on a dead link and ended up paying for a room with a view of the dumpster. So yeah, broken link is a red flag, but my default is now to assume the number is wrong until I find it somewhere that loads.

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