The date on a source can matter as much as the authority attached to its name.

Credibility has two parts, and people usually check only one. A respected institution can still be describing a world that has since changed: prices, guidance, laws, the state of a field. Old accuracy reads exactly like current accuracy, since nothing about a confident page announces that it has aged. The name tells you who is speaking, and the date tells you when they were right.

When something looks authoritative this week, find out when it was written before you rely on it. If the date is far back, look for what came after it.