I always say 'I read somewhere,' because I read a hell of a lot, and I can't always remember *where* I read something. But odds are if I dig I can find it again, but I may not have the citation ready in a conversation. That having been said, I do sometimes blog in CMOS citations.
I'm a believer that how a person is perceived is up to the perceiver, not to the speaker. If a person is getting annoyed or sees the speaker as obnoxious, it's up to them (the person, not the speaker) to do some serious thinking as to what it is in them that's creating that emotional reaction. I believe that the only thing we have control over in life is our reactions to the stimulus around us, so if we choose to see someone as annoying/obnoxious/snobby/whatever, it's important to do some thinking and try to identify what it is about that person that creates that reaction in us. It's all within our own control.
I think your cousin is picking unnecessary nits. It's easy enough for anyone to verify sources. It's not necessary tio attribute unless you're writing news.
I can see where your cousin is coming from. Saying "I read somewhere" when you know darn well where you read it from can be seen as disingenuous, especially if you're talking about a source the listener might be dubious about. "I read about X happening in Time" carries a lot more weight than "I read about it in Star," for instance. If someone questions you and you only then mention the dubious source, it could be seen as less than honest, especially if you're using what you read to bolster an argument. IMHO, it's best to mention the source (if you know it) and let the chips fall where they may. If people think you're snobby for reading something, that's their baggage.
I posed the question to my family, and all four of us side with you. "I read in___" can come across as pompous and that if the person you're speaking with cares what the source is, [s]he can ask...
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