This week, Gawker reported that CNN was caught regurgitating Twitter posts and attributing them to unnamed “sources” instead of citing where the quotes actually came from. Obviously another #CNNfail, as any reputable journalist should know to credit their sources when appropriate…

But the newest #CNNfail is NOT the topic of discussion today. I think they’ve gotten enough flack lately and frankly there are enough blog posts floating around about how much CNN sucks.

Which brings me to my question and the topic of today’s post: Is it ok to use tweets as legitimate news sources?

When Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died last week, Twitter was my primary source for late-breaking information, as I’m sure it was for many of you. However, after their deaths, a barrage of Twitter rumors surfaced – celebs like Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Natalie Portman and Britney Spears all fell victim to Twitter rumors. And don’t forget the rumors of tweets past: Patrick Swayze’s death and the Quizno’s “Two Girls, One Sub” video…both lies that spread around Twitter like wildfire.

So how do we know what information is true and which is not? If large news outlets like CNN are going to begin quoting tweets, how can we tell what news is actually legitimate? Where should the line be drawn? Should we just dismiss tweets altogether and seek “real” sources?

IMO, it’s all a matter of fact checking.

When it comes to the situation in Iran, for example, those tweets might be all we have to get a first-hand account of what’s happening. Plus, Twitter has played a major role here, so it is very appropriate to source tweets…as long as you do your fact checking first (and actually cite the source of course).

What do you think? Should news outlets like CNN use tweets as news sources?