Spotting Fake News

Here's a quick story!  Once upon a time there was an English musician who studied in Italy in his youth and ended up in Scotland. Two hundred years later, there are scores  by both the English-turned-Scotsman, and by his Italian tutor, in a university library.  

End of story. Shame, isn't it?!

Did you imagine the Brit might have deposited not only his own books but also the tutor's publications in the library?  Or did someone else deposit (or decide to keep) the Brit's books in the library because he was a popular composer?  Or did the Brit's copies of the Italian's scores end up in the secondhand market and then find their way to the library later?  There could be a wonderful detective story in this!

Before you make any assumptions, look at the evidence.  At the moment, the only verifiable truths in this story are in the first paragraph above.  No documents have, or can yet, be cited as evidence - all the rest is guesswork. Music wasn't taught in universities for several decades after the Brit died, and there's nothing to suggest he had any other involvement with the university. He was a music teacher and composer, not a scientist, lawyer or theologian.

So the moral of the tale? Don't jump to conclusions.  Check your facts.  And make sure you reference any reliable sources for the evidence you do have! 



Spotting Fake News (be a good scholar) on Biteable.