Verify before you share

Once you forward it, it's yours. These seven checks take a few minutes and catch most of what goes wrong between an AI answer and your outbox. Run them on anything another person will read.

The quote is in the original, word for word. Search the source for it. If it isn't there, drop it.
I read the sentences around it. The quote still means the same thing in context.
I know who first said this number, and whether they gain from it. A company's figures about itself are a claim, not a finding.
I have two sources that didn't get it from each other. Ten articles repeating one press release are one source.
At least one source is primary: the record, the document, the data or the original recording.
It's current. I know when it was published and when I checked it.
It's about the right person or company. Same name isn't same person.

Ticks aren't saved anywhere.

One more, always: if something is uncertain, say so in what you send. "I couldn't confirm this" protects you and the reader.

Ask the AI to pre-check it (you still do the checks)

Before I share the item below, check it against these seven points and give PASS, FAIL or CAN'T TELL for each:
1. Quotes appear word for word in the original.
2. Quotes keep their meaning in context.
3. The origin of each number, and whether that source benefits from it.
4. Two independent sources.
5. At least one primary source.
6. Dates: when published, and whether it may be out of date.
7. Right person or company.
For anything that isn't a PASS, tell me exactly what I need to check myself.

Item:
[paste]

Worked example

Leo wants to post an AI-written summary of a new state grant for small businesses. Check 3 stops him: the "$50,000 per business" figure comes from a consultant's sales page, not the state. The state's own page says up to $25,000. He posts the state's figure and its link.

Common mistakes

Checking the claim you doubted and skipping the ones you didn't.
Letting the AI's "PASS" stand in for opening the source.
Sharing first and correcting later. Corrections travel less far than the original.

ai.donnaruma.us/library/verify-before-share

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Verify before you share

Verify before you share

Common mistakes

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