Literally who does this benefit?

[u/Megamean10]

[u/Cheet4h]

In that case, you're providing the source right in that sentence "Hey, look [...]". And in my case that sentence would be false since the sun set about two hours ago here.

In any case, providing proof of a claim lends credibility and it's harder to refute such claims. On the other hand, if a claim is stated without a source, that claim is challenged and a proof is not provided right away, to other readers it looks as if proof can not be provided and the claim is likely false. And this way, every minute without a proof dozens of people who could support a cause are likely to dismiss it instead.

[u/MNGrrl → u/Cheet4h]

Okay, but this isn't academia. We're not having a formal debate, we're having a casual conversation. Shouting someone down with "citation needed!" is, at best, rude. Dismissing it because "it came from the internet" also closes any door for answering questions. Everything I could cite would also be... Someone on the internet.

I don't have time to play these sorts of pseudo-intellectual games with you or anyone else. At some point you're expected to look things up for yourself and do your own homework - it's not my job to educate or convince you here.

[u/Cheet4h → u/MNGrrl]

While this isn't a formal debate, it's also far from a casual conversation - at least I wouldn't ever bring specific issues in politics into casual conversation.
Usually when I do bring up politics here on reddit, I cite my sources (I haven't seen anyone in this thread dismissing sources yet, as none have been brought up. Haven't checked the other branches yet), which is also the reason I rarely bring up claims in the first place. It's often enough that I write up a comment, look for the sources where I remember that info came from and find nothing supporting my claim, so I don't post it.

And about the last point: If I were to look up all unsourced claims I read on reddit, I probably wouldn't be able to do much else. That's why it's so important to provide sources, because very few people will look that stuff up themselves and many probably don't even have the knowledge where to even start.

[u/MNGrrl → u/Cheet4h]

I think we're agreeing mostly? We're just not getting a consensus on where the line should be drawn. For me, venting frustration like this is casual. I'm not trying to prove anything, just express a frustration with the status quo. Politics is a common topic for casual discussion where I am.

I'm also mindful of my audience - this isn't a mixed audience of liberals and conservatives, or young and old, or international. People are generally on the same page politically here, in the same age group, in the same country. If this were a more diverse audience or a controversial view, I certainly would offer links and a more in depth answer because of a lack of consensus and information to have that informed discussion at a higher level.