Enrichment · Passion Projects

Check it before
it travels.

Fact-checkers judge a claim by leaving the page it is on. Log what you saw, the sources you opened and what each one says; the page counts the backing and the contradiction, and tells you when a verdict is ahead of the evidence.

Check a claimWhat you get

Your claims

The worked example is made up: a screenshot about library closures that the council agenda contradicts, and a sleep statistic called supported on one blog. Saved on this device only.

Loading the claim form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Passion ProjectsFree

What you finish with
A record per claim: the claim, where and when you saw it, why it matters, each source with its kind and whether it backs or contradicts the claim, eight checks, a verdict and the reason. Counts sources, backing and contradiction; flags a supported verdict on fewer than two backing sources, contradiction left unexplained, a screenshot never traced and a false claim about to be shared.
Who it is for
Students checking sources for school or before sharing, student journalists, debate and civics classes, and adults who want a habit for it.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per claim. Prints one check to attach to a project, every claim in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Write the claim as one sentence.
  2. Open new tabs and search the claim and the source.
  3. Log each source and what it says.
  4. Trace the claim to its original.
  5. Pick the verdict the evidence supports and write why.

Check a claim

Read laterally

Reading laterally: leave the page to judge it1StopNotice the pull to share. Doyou know this source?2Investigate the sourceSearch who is behind it in anew tab, not on their own site3Find better coverageWhat do trusted outlets andfact-checkers say about the4Trace to the originalThe full post, document, studyor video it came from5Check the dateOld stories and photos comeback around as new ones6Decide, and say whySupported, misleading, falseor cannot tell yetReading laterally: leave the page to judge it1StopNotice the pull to share. Do you knowthis source?2Investigate the sourceSearch who is behind it in a new tab,not on their own site3Find better coverageWhat do trusted outlets andfact-checkers say about the claim?4Trace to the originalThe full post, document, study or videoit came from5Check the dateOld stories and photos come back aroundas new ones6Decide, and say whySupported, misleading, false or cannottell yet
The first four steps are the SIFT moves. Professional fact-checkers spend most of their time off the page they are judging.

Why not just read the page

In studies by the Stanford History Education Group, students and even professors judged websites by how they looked and what they said about themselves. Fact-checkers did better and faster by opening new tabs to see what others said about the source.

Cannot tell yet is a verdict

Plenty of claims can be neither confirmed nor ruled out in an afternoon. Saying so is honest, and it keeps an unconfirmed claim out of your work and your feed until better evidence turns up.

Sources

  1. Caulfield, M. SIFT (The Four Moves) and Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers (hapgood.us; pressbooks).
  2. Wineburg, S., & McGrew, S. (2019). Lateral reading and the nature of expertise: Reading less and learning more when evaluating digital information. Teachers College Record, 121(11).
  3. Digital Inquiry Group, formerly Stanford History Education Group. Civic Online Reasoning curriculum (cor.inquirygroup.org).
  4. News Literacy Project. Checkology and Is it legit? resources (newslit.org).

The worked examples are made up. This page records your own checking; it does not look anything up or rate any outlet. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.