Otillförlitligt

Otillförlitligt is a Swedish adjective meaning not reliable or trustworthy. It is used to describe information, sources, claims, or persons that cannot be trusted to be accurate, complete, or unbiased. The term is commonly applied in media, research, journalism, and everyday language to flag uncertainty or potential errors.

In practice, something otillförlitligt is evaluated on factors such as verifiability, consistency with other evidence, transparency of methods, and absence of obvious bias or conflicts of interest. A source may be considered otillförlitlig if its data cannot be corroborated, its methodology is unclear, or the author has undisclosed incentives that could color the presentation. The concept is often contrasted with tillförlitligt, which denotes reliability and credibility.

Otillförlitlighet is a central concern in källkritik (source criticism) and information literacy. When encountering otillförlitlig information, readers are advised to seek corroborating sources, assess the reliability of the author or publisher, and consider the strength and relevance of the underlying evidence. In some contexts, everyday language may use otillförlitligt more loosely to express skepticism about a claim without rigorous evaluation.

See also: tillförlitlighet, källkritik, källhänvisning, bias.