On the open web, a polished page is not the same thing as a trustworthy source. Use this checklist before you rely on a claim.
The CRAAP questions
Currency. When was this published or updated? Is the topic time-sensitive?
Relevance. Is this actually about your question, at a serious level?
Authority. Who wrote it? What expertise do they have? Who publishes them? Can you contact someone?
Accuracy. Are there sources? Can you verify the claim elsewhere? Are there obvious errors or missing context?
Purpose. Is this here to inform, persuade, sell, or enrage? Is it fact, opinion, or advertising in costume?
Fast extra checks
- Read the About page. If you cannot tell who is behind the site, stop.
- Look for corrections and editorial standards.
- Ask who pays for the work. Funding is context, not an automatic disqualifier.
- See whether independent outlets reported the same facts.
Common traps
Bias alone does not make a source useless — hidden methods do. A peer-reviewed logo is not magic if the journal is predatory. A post going viral is not evidence. And a strong emotional reaction is a reason to slow down, not speed up.
Pause. Cross-check. Read past the headline. That habit is media literacy in practice.
This fact-check may be AI-assisted and can contain errors. Disclaimer.