How to check if something is true
The nutshell
Not everything online or in the news is true. Checking where a claim comes from, and whether trusted sources agree, helps sort fact from fiction.
Every fact on this page comes from fact-checkers, a regulator and Parliament's own research team. Each source tag — like FF — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
Why checking matters
Not everything online or in the news is true. Some of it is wrong by accident. The House of Commons Library calls that misinformation, which means false information that is not spread on purpose. False information spread on purpose is called disinformation.HoC Telling true from false is a skill. Ofcom, which helps set the rules for UK media, calls this skill media literacy and says it can be learned.Ofcom
Start with the source
The first check is simple. Where does the claim come from? Full Fact, a charity that checks claims in the news, says the best first question is where a claim is from.FF A trusted source names who wrote something, and when. A made-up story often hides that. Checking the same claim in more than one trusted place is a quick way to test it.
Read past the headline
A headline is built to grab attention. It does not always tell the whole story. Full Fact suggests reading to the end before believing or sharing a claim, and asking what facts might be missing.FF A claim that stirs strong feelings is worth a second look. Strong feelings can make a false story spread fast.
Check the pictures too
A photo or video can look real and still mislead. It might be edited. It might be old, or from a different place. A reverse image search, which looks up where a picture has appeared before, can show where it really came from.FF The UK government also lists free tools that rate how trustworthy news websites are.GOV
- Full Fact suggests three questions for any claim: where is it from, what is missing, and how does it make a reader feel
- Checking the same claim in more than one trusted source is a quick way to test it
- A reverse image search can show where a photo really came from, and when
- Full Fact warns that a confident headline can leave out the full story, so it is not proof on its own
- A claim that stirs strong feelings is worth a second look before sharing, Full Fact says
- Looking real is not the same as being true, because pictures and videos can be edited or taken out of context
The deep end6 min
Misinformation and disinformation
The words for false information are not all the same. The House of Commons Library, Parliament's impartial research team, defines misinformation as information that is false or inaccurate, and disinformation as false or inaccurate information that is created or spread deliberately. The difference is intent, or whether the false information is spread on purpose.HoC The same briefing notes that a claim is more likely to be believed when it fits what a reader already thinks, stirs an emotional response, or comes from a trusted source.
A method anyone can use
Full Fact, the UK's independent fact-checking charity, sets out a short method in its toolkit. It suggests three questions for any claim: where is it from, what is missing, and how does it make a reader feel.FF The first question asks who is behind a claim, and why it is being shared. The second asks what facts, context or dates have been left out. The third is a warning sign, because a claim built to trigger anger or fear is often the kind that spreads without a check.
Checking images and video
False information is not always written. Full Fact's toolkit includes guides on misleading images, on AI-generated pictures, and on video taken out of context.FF A reverse image search can reveal that a photo is real but old, or real but from another country. Looking real is not the same as being true.
Why this is treated as a skill
Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, has had a legal duty to improve media literacy since the Communications Act 2003, with more added by the Online Safety Act. It describes media literacy as including the skills to understand and critically evaluate online content.Ofcom The UK government publishes its own hub of media literacy resources, which points to outside tools that rate news websites for trustworthiness.GOVNone of these sources tells a reader what to think. Each sets out how to check a claim, so the reader can decide.