Trace the number

Every number in an AI summary should lead back to a line in the source. Click a claim and see where it leads, or that it leads nowhere.

The claimSample
Volunteer hours rose 30% this year.
The source line
Volunteer hours: 1,240 last year, 1,488 this year.
The working
1,488 is 20% above 1,240. Not supported.

Trace the number

Sample

Click a claim to find its source line.

Source: annual volunteer table
Volunteer hours1,240 last year, 1,488 this year
Towns served12
Active volunteers96

One move for each kind of number

  • A percent
    Redo the sum yourself: the new figure minus the old, divided by the old.
  • A total
    Add the parts. A total that does not equal its parts is wrong, even if each part is right.
  • A date
    Find the date in the source and read it letter for letter. One digit can cost a deadline.

When you cannot find the line

  1. 1
    Ask the AI to quote the line
    A real number can be quoted from the source. A made-up one cannot.
  2. 2
    Look for it yourself
    Search the source for the figure. If it is not there, the AI invented or blended it.
  3. 3
    Mark it unsupported
    Remove it or replace it with the number as written, and say where it came from.

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