Which statement best differentiates a source's credibility from its popularity?

• A. The popularity of a source.
• B. Credibility reflects accuracy and reliability; popularity reflects reach or audience size.
• C. Popularity implies accuracy.
• D. Both measure audience size.

Answer: (B)

Distinguishing credibility from popularity helps you evaluate sources in social studies. Credibility is about trustworthiness—whether the information is accurate, well-supported with evidence, and produced by a reliable author or organization. Popularity is about reach—how many people see, read, or share the source, regardless of its accuracy.

The statement that best differentiates them says credibility reflects accuracy and reliability, while popularity reflects reach or audience size. This captures the important distinction: a source can be widely read yet not accurate, and a highly credible source may not have a large audience. The other ideas either focus only on how popular a source is, wrongly claim that popularity equals accuracy, or say both measure audience size, which misses the essential idea that credibility and popularity are about different qualities.