Go to the source
The book and section, the dated speech, the report and who published it.
Claim. Source. Verdict. Use.
There is no named editor here. You are not being asked to trust a person's credentials, because none are being claimed. You are being asked to trust the sourcing, which is why the sources are on the page. 196 articles and 828 verdicts so far.
The steps
Read around it
Read to the end of the sentence, because a missing clause can change the meaning.
Look for the other side
Search for evidence against what we found before anything goes up.
Say it plainly
Holds up, partly, doesn't hold up, still argued, film line: our reading, in plain words.
Date it
Anything that can change says the month we last looked.
Primary — written at the time, by a witness, or the original text. Scholarly — edited or peer-reviewed work. Popular — press, blogs and general websites.
Six verdicts, always in words
Every verdict is an icon, a word and a colour, never colour alone. It is our reading of the evidence, with the source beside it, so you can decide for yourself.
✓Holds upIt holds up.
◐PartlySomething real is in there, but the popular version has added or changed something load-bearing.
✕Doesn't hold upIt does not hold up.
⇄Still arguedThe experts disagree. Both positions are on the page.
▶Film lineA line from a script, not from a person.
?Can't confirmNo source either way, and we say so.
What we hold ourselves to
Quotations, fiction, research claims, dates, what we will not publish, money, the sources we use and do not use, images, and how AI tools are used: it is all on one page.