The OSINT Guide to Fact Checking
Don't trust the headline. Here is how to track the money, verify the image, and read the primary source document yourself.
1. Tracking Corporate Lobbying
Legislation rarely happens in a vacuum. Before reading analysis on a new bill, check who wrote it.
Common Mistake: Assuming a think tank is non-partisan just because its name sounds academic.
Actionable Step: Use our Lobbying Expenditure Database to cross-reference the bill's sponsors with PAC contributions over the last 24 months.
2. Image Verification
With generative AI, visual evidence requires cryptographic or metadata verification.
- Always reverse image search using tools like TinEye or Yandex, not just Google.
- Look for structural anomalies: mismatched lighting, incorrect text rendering in backgrounds.
- Check the EXIF data if the raw file is available.
3. Reading the Primary Source
Journalists routinely misinterpret academic studies or legal rulings by only reading the abstract or the executive summary.
- Legal Rulings: Read the dissent. The dissent often explains the practical implications of the majority ruling better than the majority itself.
- Medical Studies: Check the sample size (n) and the funding source declared at the very bottom of the paper. A study on sugar funded by a beverage conglomerate requires extreme skepticism.
4. Analyzing Headlines
Editors write headlines to maximize click-through rates (CTR), not to inform. They frequently employ loaded verbs and emotional adjectives to trigger a neurological response.
Run suspected clickbait through our Headline Bias Analyzer to identify framing techniques.