// VERIFY //
Verify Before You Share
Everyone has shared something false. The difference is what you do when you find out. These tools take less than a minute to use. The cost of not checking is your credibility and other people\'s trust.
You do not need to be an expert. You need to slow down for 60 seconds before you hit share.
The 60-second check
Check the date
Is the photo or video from the event it claims to show, or from a different event years ago? Reverse image search will tell you.
Check the source
Who posted it first? Is the account verified? Does it have a history of reliable posting, or does it regularly post sensational content for engagement?
Check for AI tells
Look for watermarks (Sora, OpenAI, Google), blurred boundaries between similar-colored objects, missing ears or fingers, and lack of shockwaves in explosion videos.
Check the fact-checkers
Search Snopes, Reuters, AP, Lead Stories, or Africa Check. If a claim is viral, a fact-checker has probably already looked at it.
Check your emotions
If the post makes you angry, scared, or righteous, that is the design. Strong emotion is the signal to slow down, not speed up. The most viral content is the most emotionally optimized content, not the most accurate.
Wait before sharing
If you are not sure, do not share. The cost of waiting 10 minutes is zero. The cost of spreading misinformation is your credibility and other people's trust in you.
Red flags — do not share if you see these
- ⚠ The post has a "BREAKING" caption but no link to a news source
- ⚠ The video has a small watermark in the corner you did not notice
- ⚠ The account posting it has fewer than 100 followers but the post has millions of views
- ⚠ The image quality is inconsistent — some parts sharp, others blurred
- ⚠ The claim confirms exactly what you already believed, perfectly
- ⚠ The post tells you to share before it gets "taken down"
- ⚠ The source is a screenshot of a screenshot of a tweet
- ⚠ The footage has no shockwave, no sound of impact, or no bystander reaction
- ⚠ The "fact-checker" cited is an AI chatbot, not a human journalist
- ⚠ The post uses "they don't want you to know" framing
Fact-checking tools
Google Reverse Image Search
Upload or paste an image URL to find where it appeared before. If a "breaking" photo has been online for years, it is recycled.
HOW: Right-click any image → "Search image with Google." Or upload directly at images.google.com.
Open Google Reverse Image Search ↗TinEye
Reverse image search that finds the earliest known appearance of an image. Useful for detecting recycled or AI-generated images.
HOW: Upload an image or paste a URL. TinEye shows the first date it appeared online.
Open TinEye ↗InVID Verification Plugin
Browser extension for video verification. Extracts keyframes, checks metadata, and helps identify recycled or manipulated video.
HOW: Install the Chrome/Firefox extension. Right-click any video to analyze keyframes and metadata.
Open InVID Verification Plugin ↗Snopes
One of the oldest fact-checking sites. Good for viral claims, political statements, and urban legends.
HOW: Search the claim or paste the URL of the post you want to check.
Open Snopes ↗Reuters Fact Check
Reuters' dedicated fact-checking team. Strong on international claims, war footage, and AI-generated content.
HOW: Search or browse recent fact-checks. Reuters is particularly good at identifying AI-generated war footage.
Open Reuters Fact Check ↗AP Fact Check
Associated Press fact-checking. Covers political claims, viral posts, and international misinformation.
HOW: Search or browse. AP is particularly strong on political claims and historical accuracy.
Open AP Fact Check ↗Full Fact (UK)
UK-based independent fact-checking organization. Good for British politics, health claims, and migration statistics.
HOW: Search the claim. Full Fact is transparent about sources and methodology.
Open Full Fact (UK) ↗Africa Check
Africa's largest independent fact-checking organization. Covers health, politics, and religious claims across the continent.
HOW: Search or browse by country. Essential for claims about African politics, pastors, and health.
Open Africa Check ↗Lead Stories
US-based fact-checker. Particularly good at identifying AI-generated content and deepfakes.
HOW: Search the claim. Lead Stories often uses AI detection tools like Hive Moderation to verify images and video.
Open Lead Stories ↗PolitiFact
US political fact-checker with a "Truth-O-Meter" rating system. Covers statements by politicians and political influencers.
HOW: Search the politician or claim. PolitiFact rates claims from True to Pants on Fire.
Open PolitiFact ↗How to spot AI-generated content
Images: Look for blurred boundaries between similar-colored objects, unnatural pixel bleeding, extra or missing fingers, inconsistent lighting, and watermarks in corners. OpenAI images may carry a SynthID watermark detectable by Google\'s SynthID tool.
Video: Look for missing shockwaves in explosions, unnatural movements, poor lip-syncing, repetitive sequences, and audio that does not match the visual context. Check for "Made with AI" labels on platforms that support them.
Audio: AI voice cloning can replicate public figures\' voices from seconds of sample audio. If an audio clip of a politician sounds too perfect, too convenient, or too incriminating, treat it as suspect until verified.
Text: AI chatbots (Grok, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) can produce confident, well-sourced-sounding answers that are completely wrong. Do not use an AI chatbot as your primary fact-checker. Use human fact-checkers instead.
If you already shared misinformation
1. Correct it. Post a correction with the fact-check link. Do not delete the original post silently — people who saw it deserve to know it was wrong.
2. Delete it if needed. If the post is harmful and a correction will not reach the same audience, delete it. But try to correct first.
3. Learn from it. Ask yourself which of the 6 steps you skipped. Next time, do that step first.
4. Do not beat yourself up. Everyone shares misinformation. The platforms are designed to make it easy. The correction is what matters.