The rise of generative AI and its tendency to invent citations and confidently assert false claims makes fact-checking skills essential. Use the following strategies to evaluate claims:
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Vet the Publication
Use the steps from How to Vet a Publication to see if the publisher of the claim is credible.
See if Someone Has Already Checked the Claim
Research the claim in other quality publications to see if someone has already confirmed or debunked it. There are also websites dedicated to debunking false claims:
Check the Date
In most workplace situations, readers will expect your source material to have been published within the last one to five years, depending on the topic, field, and the type of publication where the source appeared. An older source will need to be a book or article that you can show continues to have relevance and influence in your field.
Research the Author
Is the author’s expertise relevant? Can you find evidence that the author does good work as a journalist or as a professional in their field? Have there been scandals or questions about the truthfulness of their work? Use Google and at least one other search engine like DuckDuckGo or Bing and perform multiple searches to research the author’s credentials.
Do the same kind of check for podcast hosts, influencers, and other content creators.
Determine What Type of Article You’re Looking At
Credible publications publish many types of articles; some are fact checked and some are not. Avoid the following types of articles, which receive little or no fact checking and may contain false claims or heavily slanted viewpoints:
- Editorials. Editorials appear in news publications, but they aren’t news articles themselves. Special editorial boards write them, and, at reputable publications, news reporters aren’t allowed to contribute. Editorials aren’t bound by the rules of objectivity or balance that publications often apply to their news content.
- Opinion essays or Op-Eds. Opinion essays appear in news publications, but aren’t reported news articles. Instead, they comment on current events. Although the authors may be credible experts or experienced journalists, these essays are not fact checked.
- Content marketing. Content marketing or sponsored content is paid for by individuals or companies to promote their products or services. See this page [link] for details and examples.
- Press releases. Press releases are articles written by companies or organizations about their own products, services, or initiatives, and the publications in which they appear don’t fact-check their claims or get outside perspectives. Here is an example of a press release placed by real estate company RE/MAX.
Evaluate the Evidence Provided for the Claim
A good journalist, even if relying on anonymous sources, will make it clear how they confirmed that information with other sources. They will also provide attribution and hyperlinks where possible.
Read the Sources used to Support the Claim
Check to make sure that the author of the claim you’re checking represented their sources accurately. For example, newspapers often publish exciting health news in ways that oversimplify or misrepresent a study’s findings. Click on links or find the original scholarly article in the library databases.