Independent sources in journalism, criminal justice and general research, represent two or more people or organizations which attest to a given piece of information. For example, two people who witness a traffic accident first hand would be considered independent sources. If one person witnessed the accident and told the other one about it, then they would certainly not be independent sources - one depends on the other for their information. If two witnesses to an event are able to discuss what they saw before they are consulted, and agree on a unified "story" to tell the world, then they are also no longer independent sources.

Consulting multiple independent sources is a common technique for detecting errors and deception.

Famously, the New York Times's minimal standard for directly reporting a fact (rather than attributing it to a certain speaker) is that it be verified by at least two independent sources.