Reuters Handbook of Journalism: "A named source is always preferable to an unnamed source. Anonymous sources are the weakest sources"

Quote (Reuters Handbook of Journalism):

"Accuracy entails honesty in sourcing. Our reputation... rests on the credibility of our sources." "A named source is always preferable to an unnamed source... Anonymous sources are the weakest sources."

Source: https://handbook.reuters.com (last comprehensively revised 2012; principles remain in force at Reuters).

Confidence: Verified.

Caveat on dating: Reuters Handbook is older than this brief's default 2023 freshness threshold. Justification for inclusion: it is the primary editorial-standards document for Reuters and remains authoritative; no successor document has replaced it.

Reuters Trust Principles (adopted 1941, reaffirmed at Thomson-Reuters merger April 2008):

"That the integrity, independence and freedom from bias of Thomson Reuters shall at all times be fully preserved... That Thomson Reuters shall at no time pass into the hands of any one interest, group or faction."

For Candid use: "Anonymous sources are the weakest" is the test to apply to every "experts say" or "studies show" in marketing copy. Marketing content routinely uses anonymous sources where journalism explicitly refuses to. The fix is named sources, dated, with verbatim quote — see RULE: Every objective claim in Candid content carries a named source + date + verbatim quote ≤25 words + confidence label.