Sitelinks to an item are an approximation of the number of views of the
data from an item, and as such gives an approximation to the likelihood of
detecting an error. Few views imply a larger time span before an error is
detected. It is really about estimating quality as a function of the age of
the item as number of page views, but approximated through sitelinks.
Problem is, the number of sitelinks is not a good approximation. Yes it is
a simple approximation, but it is still pretty bad.
References are an other way to verify the data, but that is not a valid
argument against measuring the age of the data.
I've been toying with an idea for some time that use statistical inference
to try to identify questionable facts, but it will probably not be done -
it is way to much work to do in spare time.