A compact desk for checking claims and finding primary sources
Use this sequence when a tip, post, image or document arrives without enough context.
Five checks before you publish
- Preserve. Save the original URL, timestamp, account name and a local copy when policy allows.
- Identify. Separate the person posting from the person or organization that created the material.
- Locate. Look for landmarks, weather, shadows, language and official records that can establish place and time.
- Corroborate. Seek an independent primary source. A second account repeating the first is not corroboration.
- Disclose. Tell the audience what is verified, what remains uncertain and how the material was obtained.
Keep a verification log
Use one record for each claim, image or document. Copy the fields below into your desk notes, keep the evidence with the record and update the conclusion when new information arrives. A completed log documents your checks; it does not make an unsupported claim true.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Claim and scope | The exact assertion being checked, including its place and date. |
| Original material | The original URL, creator or account, and how you obtained it. Distinguish the creator from a reposting account. |
| Capture | When you accessed the material, with time zone. Note any retained copy permitted by your newsroom policy. |
| Provenance | What establishes origin, location and time, and what is still unknown. |
| Independent check | The source URL or contact record, what it establishes, and whether it is independent of the original. |
| Finding and limits | What the evidence supports, contradicts or cannot settle. Separate observation from inference. |
| Decision and next action | Publish with supported wording, continue checking or hold the claim. Name the missing check. |
| Review | Who checked the record and when; any later correction or changed conclusion. |
Worked example: a bridge-closure claim
Fictional training example: A repost says Riverside Footbridge “closed this morning.” The image has no verified capture date. A town notice says repairs are planned this week, but does not confirm today’s closure.
- Material and capture: Save the actual post URL and access time with time zone. The reposting account is not yet established as the photographer.
- Independent check: Retain the town notice’s URL and publication date. It supports the repair schedule, not the claim that the bridge closed this morning.
- Finding: The closure timing remains unverified. Neither the undated image nor the schedule settles it.
- Next action: Ask the responsible office for the current closure status and seek the original image and capture time. Hold the specific closure claim until the evidence supports it; record the reviewer and any later update.
For deeper verification guidance, consult the Verification Handbook. This log and fictional exercise are AssignmentEditor.com editorial aids, not a reproduction of the handbook. For supporting records, use the public-records workflow; use the expert-vetting guide when an interpretation needs specialist help.
Open tools
Claims
Google Fact Check Explorer searches published fact checks; inspect the underlying evidence.
Images
TinEye can surface earlier appearances and altered copies.
Video
InVID verification tools support keyframe and metadata checks.
Records
GovInfo and Federal Register provide federal primary material.
Sources
- Verification Handbookverificationhandbook.com
- Google Fact Check Explorertoolbox.google.com
- TinEyetineye.com
- InVID verification toolsinvid-project.eu
- GovInfogovinfo.gov
- Federal Registerfederalregister.gov