Verify a Research Report Through Its Original Source, Not Its Logo
Verify the publisher, author, date, and original location of a shared research report. Find conditions missing from cropped images or forwarded files and trace figures back to their initial sources.
Verifying a report's source means checking both who produced it and what evidence supports its judgment. Do not rely on a logo or author name alone: find the same document in the publisher's official listing and compare its date and content.
Establish the document's identity first
Record the title, company name, stock code, author, and publication date shown on the shared PDF or image. Then look for the same combination in the brokerage's official research listing. There may be a follow-up report with a similar title, so date and price target alone do not establish that it is the same document. You can also check the page count and whether the final disclosure page is present. Failure to find it on the official site does not immediately establish forgery, but its status should remain 'original not verified.'
Trace the numbers one step further to their source
Confirming that a document is brokerage research does not establish that its figures are disclosed actual results. Check whether table source notes cite company materials, brokerage estimates, or an external data provider. A proprietary estimate need not appear in the original company filing, but it must not be cited as actual performance. Industry statistics may have their own coverage definitions and update dates. If you cannot access the underlying data, record how far verification went rather than claiming to have fully confirmed numerical accuracy.
Check for editing during sharing
A single image can crop out units and footnotes, and a forwarded post can pair an old target with today's price. If the wording differs from the original, distinguish quotations from the poster's commentary. An investment information site's independent appearance does not establish an absence of interests. U.S. investor guidance explains that paid promotions or false credentials can be presented as research. A long source list does not increase the number of independent verification sources if every item cites the same document. Recording when you checked the original also gives you a baseline if the file is replaced or a new version appears later.
Worked example
Hypothetical example: Suppose a one-page image shared in a messaging app shows a price target of KRW 80,000. You find the same title in the official listing and open the original, only to discover that the target comes from last year's report and has a different reference price date. Write 'official original verified; current validity needs review' in your notes. Then find the latest report separately and compare the revision history. The key is not to treat finding the official file as verification of the shared post's current upside calculation or recommendation to buy.
What to check
- Do the title, author, and date match the official listing?
- Have you obtained the original with complete pages and footnotes?
- Have you checked whether the table shows actuals or brokerage estimates?
- Have you avoided counting repeated citations as multiple independent sources?
Sources and primary materials
This is educational material about research methods. For an actual company decision, verify the filings and primary sources for the relevant period.