Bart Staes

Article summary

Bart Hubert Wilfried Marcel Staes ( ; born 7 August 1958), is a Belgian politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament for Flanders from 1999 until 2019. He is a member of Groen, part of the European Greens. After studying in Brussels and qualifying as a teacher (Dutch/English/Economics), Staes turned to politics, beginning his political career in the Volksunie, which later became Spirit. Following the formation of the electoral alliance (cartel) between Spirit and the Socialistische Partij Anders (sp.a) in 2002, Staes moved to join Agalev (as it was then known; today, Groen). He has been a Member of the European Parliament continuously since 1999, at first for the Volksunie, later Spirit and now Groen. His particular interests are the environment and peace movements.

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1958-08-07 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. publication date: 1996 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1958-08-07". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the publication date is "1996". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378220703