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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteDo not rely on an AI-generated factual claim until you have checked it against evidence. Pull the answer apart into individual claims, trace each one to a relevant and current source, inspect the AI’s citations, and seek independent confirmation. For consequential decisions or contested claims, ask a qualified subject expert to review the evidence.
Why a fluent AI answer still needs checking
Generative AI can produce plausible statements that are wrong, incomplete, misleading, or paired with citations that do not support them. Polished wording is not evidence. The House of Commons Library recommends checking AI output carefully, ideally with an expert: Working with AI and spotting AI-generated text.
AI can help draft, summarize, generate questions, or suggest avenues to investigate. Treat it as a starting point—not a definitive source—when accuracy matters, particularly on contested or changing subjects. You remain responsible for what you publish or do with the result.
A step-by-step workflow for verifying an AI answer
- Decide what the answer is for. If you are brainstorming or drafting, AI may be useful. If you need a reliable fact for publication, a legal or policy interpretation, or a decision with real consequences, plan to verify it before use.
- Break the answer into checkable claims. Mark names, dates, figures, institutional roles, quotations, legal references, citations, and cause-and-effect statements. Check each claim, not just whether the answer’s general theme sounds right.
- Find evidence for each claim. Start with the original record where possible: official data, government or organizational pages, legislation, regulator material, or a peer-reviewed study. If primary evidence is unavailable, use a credible secondary source qualified to address the question. Confirm that its evidence supports the exact wording and scope of the AI’s claim.
- Open and assess every citation. Do not trust a link because its title or formatting looks convincing. Check that it loads, addresses the claim, comes from a suitable source, and has not been misrepresented or superseded.
- Check date, location, and context. Ask whether the information could have changed and whether it applies to the place, people, definitions, and circumstances in the claim. For news or media, verify when and where it originated and review surrounding context.
- Seek independent corroboration. Look for another credible source that confirms the claim using its own evidence. Several pages repeating the same unsupported assertion do not amount to independent confirmation.
- Review the answer as a whole. Look for contradictions, missing perspectives, stereotypes, unsupported certainty, and omissions that change the meaning.
- Escalate when the stakes warrant it. Ask a qualified subject expert to review contested or consequential claims. Then edit, add context, or withhold anything the evidence does not establish.
British Columbia’s Review gen AI outputs guidance also recommends checking names, dates, figures, laws, quotations, citations, consistency, and bias.
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How to judge whether a source actually supports a claim
When sources disagree, compare them on the question that matters rather than counting how many pages repeat an answer. Use these checks:
- Authority and directness: Is this the original record, or a source qualified to speak to the subject?
- Claim-level support: Does the source establish this precise statement, or only a related point?
- Currency: Is it still valid for the date and situation you care about?
- Independence: Does the source provide its own evidence, or repeat another outlet’s claim?
- Context and scope: Do its location, population, definitions, and surrounding events match the AI’s wording?
- Consequence of error: Would a mistake affect someone’s safety, rights, money, or reputation enough to require expert review?
A source can be authoritative yet fail to support a particular sentence. A current source can also describe a different jurisdiction or population. Match the evidence to the claim before accepting it.
How to check AI-generated images, video, and other media
Separate three questions: whether content was generated or altered with AI, where it came from, and whether its claims are accurate. These are related but not interchangeable. NIST describes authentication and provenance tracking, labeling such as watermarking, and detection as distinct approaches to transparency in its overview of technical approaches to digital content transparency.
Visual clues—such as inconsistent shadows, mismatched features, stiff facial movement, or distorted details—can prompt closer inspection, but they cannot settle whether an image is genuine or a claim is true. Check available timestamps, geotags, and source information. For a reused or suspicious image, reverse image search can help locate earlier appearances and provide context. Indiana’s Department of Homeland Security offers additional misinformation checks.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When to stop, qualify, or get expert help
If you cannot trace a claim to evidence that supports it, do not present it as established fact. You can omit it, describe the uncertainty, or narrow the wording to what the evidence actually shows. For legal, policy, safety, or otherwise high-impact claims, seek review from someone qualified in that subject before publishing or acting. The UK Government’s Artificial Intelligence Playbook warns that plausible but false AI output and overreliance can cause harm, reinforcing the need for human review.
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