bronprofiel

Bronprofiel is a structured description of a source used in journalism, research and information literacy to assess the credibility and reliability of information. The term combines bron, meaning source, and profiel, meaning profile, and it is commonly applied to document the background and context of a source.

A bronprofiel typically includes several elements: the source’s identity (name, organization and role), their claimed expertise and qualifications, and their affiliations and funding sources. It also notes potential conflicts of interest, the purpose and audience of the information, and the context in which the source provides it. Additional aspects often considered are the source’s access to relevant data, past reliability or credibility, possible biases or framing, and any limitations such as language, jurisdiction or geographic perspective. The profile may also indicate whether the information is primary or secondary and how it was obtained or verified.

Creating a bronprofiel involves gathering publicly available information, checking official records and publications, reviewing past statements or corrections, and seeking corroboration from independent sources when possible. The findings are documented with the date and kept up to date as new information becomes available. In practice, editors and fact-checkers use bronprofielen to decide whether to rely on a source, how much weight to assign to their claims, and what caveats to communicate to readers.

Limitations include the possibility that a bronprofiel is incomplete or outdated, that sources may misrepresent themselves, and that profiles cannot fully capture all dimensions of credibility. Best practices emphasize triangulation with multiple independent sources, ongoing updates, and standardized templates to support consistency and transparency.