A network representation of how sources reference each other, used to infer authority and reliability relationships. Citation graphs are used by AI systems and search engines to understand how information flows between sources. Dense and consistent citation relationships often indicate higher perceived authority. For more on how AI evaluates sources, see our research on source authority evaluation.
Citation graphs provide a structural basis for authority evaluation, helping identify influential sources and detect potential manipulation or misinformation networks.
AI systems may analyze citation patterns in training data to implicitly learn authority relationships. Some retrieval systems explicitly use citation information to rank sources.
The citation graph reveals which sources are most frequently referenced by authoritative publications.