3 Ways to Check a Claim
Here are 3 things to do to check a claim (for more details see the rest of the sections on this page):
- Check with Fact-Checkers - others may have already investigated this claim.
- Go to the Source - who published the claim?
- What Do Others Say about the Source (Lateral Reading)?
Based on "Four Moves" from Michael A. Caulfield's Web Literacy for Student Fact Checkers.
Use Rate My Source, from University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, to determine if your source is appropriate for college research!
Check with Fact-Checkers
Someone else may have already fact-checked the claim. Here are links to a few fact-checking sites to consult:
- FactCheck.orgFrom Annenberg Public Policy Center (nonpartisan, nonprofit)
- SnopesAward-winning site
- Lead StoriesFact checks and debunks rumors/hoaxes.
- PolitiFactPulitzer-prize winning site (though does have ads that look like the content)
- Washington Post Fact CheckerMainly checks claims related to politics.
- Open SecretsFrom Center for Responsive Politics (nonpartisan, nonprofit); tracks money in U.S. politics
- SciCheckFrom Annenberg Public Policy Center (nonpartisan, nonprofit); fact checks science-related claims
- Health TopicsFrom Annenberg Public Policy Center - fact checks the health care debate
- TinEyePhotos can be misidentified - use TinEye to check where a photo actually came from.
Go to the Source
Who is making the claim?
Go to their website to learn more about them:
- Check the "About Us" section to look for information such as:
- their mission
- where they get their funding
- who's on their Board of Directors/Advisory Board
- who are their authors/editors and what are their backgrounds and credentials?
- What's the website like? What other kinds of stories are on that site?
Google Search Tip: Put quotation marks around the name of the organization you're searching for to ensure it's searched as a phrase (e.g., "American Heart Association"). Some unreliable sources name themselves in a way that is very similar to reputable sources, so the quotation marks will help ensure you find results with the exact name of the organization you want.
What Do Others Say about the Source? (also known as Lateral Reading)
Search for the name of the organization and/or person who originally published the claim.
Search for websites (Google) or articles (from library resources, below) to learn more about the source (publisher, author, or creator of the site or information):
- Does the website or article quote from or identify the source as an authority in that area?
- Or, does the article identify or discuss the source as an unreliable or hoax source?
Search Tip: Put quotation marks around the name of the organization you're searching for to ensure it's searched as a phrase (e.g., "American Heart Association").
- ProQuest Global Newsstream This link opens in a new windowLarge collections of news from the US, Canada, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Includes the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Boston Globe, and many other regional newspapers.
- Newspaper Source Plus (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowU.S. and international newspapers, radio and TV news transcripts. (VIVA)
Citizen Literacy was created by Robert Detmering, Amber Willenborg, and Terri Holtze for University of Louisville Libraries and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.