Recently there was a question asking why Chicago's media industry was so much smaller than NYC and LA.
If you were to make an argument that Chicago's media industry isn't much smaller than NYC's (I honestly don't know if it is, just using it as an example), could you use sources and evidence from within the last 20 years to prove that the question's premise itself is false in an attempt to answer it?
Yes, of course. We have no prohibition against using sources less than 20 years old. We prohibit discussing events less than 20 years old.
Generally, no. You cannot write a response to a question that says nothing but, "you're wrong, the Chicago media industry is as big as New York's and LA's, here is a Bloomberg article that says so." We expect you to instead turn the question on its side and explain the historical reasons people only think of LA and NYC and consider Chicago on a lesser level, or how Chicago got a late start in the industry, or something along those lines. An answer must focus on a historical question. (We reserve the right to allow a certain amount of twenty-year-rule fudging for a brief rebuttal of the incorrect premise in these cases.)