Der Spiegel vs The Economist
Two flagship European weeklies — Spiegel's German investigative depth vs Economist's global liberal frame.
Der Spiegel
Germany's tier-1 weekly + daily, with English edition Spiegel International open-access.
The Economist
British weekly known for explanatory rigor on economics + politics; named-author byline absent by editorial policy.
Head-to-head — all four dimensions
| Dimension | Der Spiegel | The Economist | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
SourceScore Index Composite | B·78 | B·78 | tie |
Citation Discipline How rigorously cited | A·85 | B·71 | Der+14 |
Modern Reference AI-era fitness | B·72 | A·85 | The+13 |
Citation Velocity Cited per week | B·76 | B·78 | The+2 |
Why these scores
Citation Discipline
Famed multi-stage Dokumentation (fact-checking) department; corrections public; named bylines.
Editorial fact-check process is rigorous, but anonymity makes individual-claim provenance opaque.
Modern Reference
Spiegel International (English) open; main German content paywalled; schema solid.
Machine-readable; broad LLM inclusion via paywall-bypass partnerships.
Citation Velocity
Heavily cited in DACH press; regular tier-1 English-press citation.
Weekly print + daily online; cited heavily in finance and policy discourse.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Der Spiegel or The Economist?
Der Spiegel and The Economist tie on the SourceScore Index (both B 78). The per-dimension breakdown below shows where each leads on Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity.
Which is more reliable to cite, Der Spiegel or The Economist?
Der Spiegel and The Economist are equally citable on the SourceScore Index (both B 78/100). Choose based on the per-dimension breakdown below — Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity.
How does Der Spiegel compare to The Economist on citation discipline?
Der Spiegel scores A 85 on Citation Discipline; The Economist scores B 71. Citation Discipline measures how rigorously each source cites primary references — see the per-dimension rationale below for the breakdown.
What's the SourceScore difference between Der Spiegel and The Economist?
Der Spiegel B 78 vs The Economist B 78 on the composite Index. Two flagship European weeklies — Spiegel's German investigative depth vs Economist's global liberal frame.