Step 6Peer-reviewedWell documented

Decide, and keep the receipt

If you cannot name the source, treat the claim as unverified

On the timeline · around Step 6 ·

What happened

Make the call: supported, contradicted, or unverified. Then keep the receipt by noting the strongest source you found, the way every event on this site names its sources and grades them. A claim you cannot attach a source to is not a fact you hold. It is a rumor you remember.

Why it matters

The habit is the point. Fact-checking one claim helps once; keeping receipts changes how you read everything.

How we know

Stanford's researchers called evaluating information the cornerstone of civic online reasoning. The receipt habit is this site's house method applied to daily reading.

Sources

Sam Wineburg, Sarah McGrew, Joel Breakstone, Teresa Ortega. Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning (Stanford Digital Repository) (2016) · Peer-reviewed (author-declared)purl.stanford.edu · Cited as a "journal" source (no stronger domain match). · Link checked and content matched (Jul 2026)

See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.

Part of a guideHow to Fact-Check a Claim You Read Online6 steps · Read like a professional fact-checker: four moves that catch most bad claims in under two minutes.View all →