Skip to content
Think For Yourself

The Fact-Checker's Toolkit: Verify Anything Online

Ages 12–16 25 min read Intermediate

You see a claim online. It feels true. It's been shared thousands of times. But is it actually true? Here are the practical tools professional fact-checkers use — and you can use them too, in under two minutes.

The Toolkit

1. Lateral Reading

Don't just read the article — open new tabs and check what others say about the source. Professional fact-checkers spend less time on the original page and more time checking what other credible sources say. This technique was identified by Stanford researchers (Wineburg & McGrew, 2019).

2. Fact-Checking Websites

  • RMIT ABC Fact Check (abc.net.au/news/factcheck) — Australian political claims
  • Snopes (snopes.com) — viral claims, myths, rumours
  • AP Fact Check (apnews.com/APFactCheck) — global news claims
  • Full Fact (fullfact.org) — UK-based, rigorous methodology

3. Google the Claim + "fact check"

Simply adding "fact check" to any Google search often surfaces professional analyses. Google also has a "Fact Check Explorer" tool (toolbox.google.com/factcheck).

4. Check the Date

Old articles get reshared as if they're new. A 2019 article about a bushfire can be shared in 2025 to create false panic. Always check when something was published.

5. Check the URL

Fake news sites often mimic real ones: "abcnews.com.co" (not real ABC), "bbcnews.info" (not BBC). Look carefully at the domain.

6. Read Beyond the Headline

Studies show that 59% of shared articles on social media are shared without being read (Gabielkov et al., 2016). The headline is designed to trigger sharing. The article itself often contradicts or heavily qualifies the headline.

The Two-Minute Check

Before sharing anything online:

  1. Check the source (30 seconds)
  2. Check the date (10 seconds)
  3. Search for the claim + "fact check" (30 seconds)
  4. Read beyond the headline (30 seconds)
  5. Ask: does this trigger strong emotion? (red flag for manipulation)

Total: under 2 minutes. This habit alone would prevent the vast majority of misinformation from spreading.

Tonight's Question

"Show the family the last thing you shared on social media. Together, apply the two-minute check. Does it hold up?"

Fact-Check Race

  1. One person reads out a claim (mix real and fake ones — find examples at snopes.com).
  2. Everyone races to fact-check it using the toolkit.
  3. First person to determine if it's true or false (with evidence) scores a point.
  4. Play 10 rounds.
  5. Discuss: which claims were hardest to verify? Why?

Go Further

  • Course: Google's free "Be Internet Awesome" program for families.
  • Tool: Google Fact Check Explorer (toolbox.google.com/factcheck).
  • Research: How do professional fact-checkers at organisations like AFP or Reuters work?
  • Challenge: For one week, fact-check one claim per day. Track your results.

What We Simplified

  • Fact-checking sites aren't perfect. They have editorial choices and occasionally make mistakes. But they're far more reliable than random social media.
  • Some claims are genuinely hard to verify. Not everything has a clear true/false answer. Nuance exists.
  • The 59% figure is from 2016. The actual number may have changed, but the underlying behaviour (sharing without reading) is well documented.

Sources

  • Wineburg, S. & McGrew, S. (2019). "Lateral Reading and the Nature of Expertise." Cognition and Instruction, 37(3), 373-393.
  • Gabielkov, M. et al. (2016). "Social Clicks: What and Who Gets Read on Twitter?" ACM SIGMETRICS.
  • RMIT ABC Fact Check. ABC Fact Check
  • First Draft. "Verification Handbook." First Draft

Want to track progress and save lessons?

Create a free family account. No credit card, no catch — just a place to keep track of what your family is learning.

Create Free Account