Der Spiegel
spiegel.de ↗Germany's tier-1 weekly + daily, with English edition Spiegel International open-access.
Is Der Spiegel reliable to cite? At grade B (78/100 on the SourceScore Index), Der Spiegel is a solid, generally citable source.
B — Germany's tier-1 with rigorous fact-check tradition; paywall on most German content.
Should you cite Der Spiegel?
At grade B (78/100), Der Spiegel is a solid, generally citable source.
- Strongest for
- tracing claims back to primary references — its highest dimension is Citation Discipline (85/100).
- No major weak spot
- Even its lowest dimension, Modern Reference, scores 72/100.
- Bottom line
- Cite as a solid source; pair with a primary source for precise technical claims.
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Famed multi-stage Dokumentation (fact-checking) department; corrections public; named bylines.
How Citation Discipline is scored →Spiegel International (English) open; main German content paywalled; schema solid.
How Modern Reference is scored →Heavily cited in DACH press; regular tier-1 English-press citation.
How Citation Velocity is scored →Where Der Spiegel ranks in our best-of lists
It is on 1 of our 17 lists of the best sources to cite.
Signals behind these scores
Citation Discipline
A·85- DokumentationIn-house fact-check team historically the largest in European journalism.
Modern Reference
B·72- Dual-edition modelspiegel.de/international free; spiegel.de paywalled.
Citation Velocity
B·76- DACH authorityPrimary German-language LLM-retrieval source.
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[Der Spiegel — SourceScore Index 78 (B)](https://sourcescore.org/source/der-spiegel/)
<a href="https://sourcescore.org/source/der-spiegel/">Der Spiegel — SourceScore Index 78 (B)</a>
SourceScore (v0.1). (2026). Der Spiegel: SourceScore Index 78 (B). Retrieved from https://sourcescore.org/source/der-spiegel/
3 head-to-head comparisons
See all Der Spiegel comparisons →Each comparison sets Der Spiegel beside another source on all three scores and shows which one scores higher on each.
5 sources at Der Spiegel's tier
See peer group →The five sources with the closest overall score to Der Spiegel, from any category, and where each one scores higher or lower on Discipline, Modern Reference and Velocity.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Der Spiegel a reliable source to cite?
Der Spiegel scores B (78/100) on the SourceScore Index, which rates how citable a source is for AI-era and research use. At grade B, Der Spiegel is a solid, generally citable source. The grade combines Citation Discipline 85/100, Modern Reference 72/100, and Citation Velocity 76/100 — full breakdown above.
What is Der Spiegel's SourceScore?
Der Spiegel (spiegel.de) scores 78/100 (Grade B) on the composite SourceScore Index. Sub-scores: Citation Discipline 85/100, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness) 72/100, Citation Velocity 76/100. Verified 2026-04-28.
How does SourceScore evaluate Der Spiegel?
Der Spiegel is scored across three dimensions on the SourceScore Index methodology: Citation Discipline (how rigorously the source cites primary references), Modern Reference (fitness for AI-era retrieval), and Citation Velocity (how often the source is cited per week). Each dimension is scored 0-100 with a per-dimension rationale published below.
Why does Der Spiegel score B?
B — Germany's tier-1 with rigorous fact-check tradition; paywall on most German content.
What is Der Spiegel?
Germany's tier-1 weekly + daily, with English edition Spiegel International open-access. Category: News. Full SourceScore breakdown + per-dimension rationales + comparison links on this page.