# Fact-check against sources: checklist

Check each claim in a draft against the sources you give, quote the passage that backs or contradicts it, and list what to fix, using nothing from outside those sources.

## Before you start

- [ ] Have ready: The draft to check
  Paste the text as it stands now. Every number, date and name in it will be checked.
- [ ] Have ready: The sources to check it against
  Paste the text of the reports, records or notes the draft should rest on. If you have several, paste them one after another with a title above each.

## Step 1: List every claim in the draft

- [ ] Pick out each statement a source could prove or disprove, quoted word for word, before any source is read.
- [ ] You have: A numbered table of the claims, each quoted from the draft.
- [ ] Check: Every quote in the Claim (quote) column appears word for word in the draft to check.
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Step 2: Find the passage for each claim

- [ ] For each claim, quote the words in the sources that bear on it, or say that none do.
- [ ] You have: A table that puts a quoted passage from the sources beside each claim, or None found.
- [ ] Check: Every quote in the Source passage (quote) column appears word for word in the sources to check it against.
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Step 3: Give each claim a verdict

- [ ] Compare each claim with its passage and give one of four verdicts, with the reason in one sentence.
- [ ] You have: A table that gives each claim one of four verdicts and the reason.
- [ ] Check: Every row of the table has one of "supported", "partly supported", "contradicted" or "not in sources" in the Verdict column.
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Step 4: Write the fact-check report

- [ ] Turn the verdicts into a count, a list of what to fix with wording taken from the sources, and a list of what holds up.
- [ ] You have: A report with a count line, a table of fixes and a list of the claims that hold up.
- [ ] Check: Every row of the table has something written in "Claim (quote)", "What the sources say" and "Suggested wording" (a blank or a dash does not count).
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.

## Final checks

- [ ] Check: Every quote in the Claim (quote) column appears word for word in the draft to check.
  A plain rule you can check by eye. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.
- [ ] Check: Count the verdicts in the table below. Do the numbers on the Result line of the report match those counts, and does the number of rows under "Fix before you send" equal the number of claims that are not supported? Answer FAIL and say which count is wrong.
  Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.
- [ ] Check: Compare each suggested wording in the report with the sources below. Does every number, date and name in it appear in the sources, and does it say no more than the sources do? Answer FAIL and quote any wording that adds a figure or a fact the sources do not give.
  Checked by a second AI prompt. If not: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it.
- [ ] Check: Read each row under "Fix before you send". For a claim marked not in sources, decide whether to find a source, soften the claim or cut it, and check the suggested wording against the source yourself before you use it.
  Checked by you. If not: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it.

## You end up with

- [ ] A count of the claims checked and how each one fared.
- [ ] A list of the claims to fix, with the passage from the sources and suggested wording for each.
- [ ] A list of the claims that hold up.

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From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.