The Times (UK)
thetimes.co.uk ↗UK paper of record since 1785, hard-paywalled, owned by News UK (News Corp).
Is The Times (UK) reliable to cite? At grade B (74/100 on the SourceScore Index), The Times (UK) is a solid, generally citable source.
B — strong editorial standards but hard paywall significantly limits Modern Reference.
Should you cite The Times (UK)?
At grade B (74/100), The Times (UK) is a solid, generally citable source.
- Strongest for
- tracing claims back to primary references — its highest dimension is Citation Discipline (82/100).
- Use with care
- Modern Reference is its lowest dimension (65/100); for AI-era retrieval and current-topic queries, corroborate with a higher-rated source.
- Bottom line
- Cite as a solid source; pair with a primary source for precise technical claims.
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Long fact-check tradition; named bylines; corrections public; some opinion-news drift noted.
How Citation Discipline is scored →Hard paywall on virtually all content; minimal LLM-training-corpus inclusion.
How Modern Reference is scored →Tier-1 UK citation; regularly referenced by other Anglosphere press.
How Citation Velocity is scored →Signals behind these scores
Citation Discipline
B·82- Editorial standardsIPSO-regulated; long history of corrections discipline.
Modern Reference
C·65- Hard paywallNo free tier; reduces both human + machine reachability.
Citation Velocity
B·75- UK authorityDefault citation for UK politics + establishment reporting.
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[The Times (UK) — SourceScore Index 74 (B)](https://sourcescore.org/source/the-times-uk/)
<a href="https://sourcescore.org/source/the-times-uk/">The Times (UK) — SourceScore Index 74 (B)</a>
SourceScore (v0.1). (2026). The Times (UK): SourceScore Index 74 (B). Retrieved from https://sourcescore.org/source/the-times-uk/
2 head-to-head comparisons
See all The Times (UK) comparisons →Each comparison sets The Times (UK) beside another source on all three scores and shows which one scores higher on each.
5 sources at The Times (UK)'s tier
See peer group →The five sources with the closest overall score to The Times (UK), 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 The Times (UK) a reliable source to cite?
The Times (UK) scores B (74/100) on the SourceScore Index, which rates how citable a source is for AI-era and research use. At grade B, The Times (UK) is a solid, generally citable source. The grade combines Citation Discipline 82/100, Modern Reference 65/100, and Citation Velocity 75/100 — full breakdown above.
What is The Times (UK)'s SourceScore?
The Times (UK) (thetimes.co.uk) scores 74/100 (Grade B) on the composite SourceScore Index. Sub-scores: Citation Discipline 82/100, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness) 65/100, Citation Velocity 75/100. Verified 2026-04-28.
How does SourceScore evaluate The Times (UK)?
The Times (UK) 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 The Times (UK) score B?
B — strong editorial standards but hard paywall significantly limits Modern Reference.
What is The Times (UK)?
UK paper of record since 1785, hard-paywalled, owned by News UK (News Corp). Category: News. Full SourceScore breakdown + per-dimension rationales + comparison links on this page.