Turn a headline into a testable statement
Write the claim as it appears, then define its scope. If it contains a number, find the unit, date and denominator. If it says “research shows”, note which studies it means.
Separate the source chain
A news story may summarise a press release, which in turn summarises a paper. Interpretation can be added at every link. Do not treat a sentence in the news story as a research finding before opening the actual study.
An investigation plan rather than a conclusion
Fill in the four fields below. Your working note stays in this tab. It is not sent to the site and disappears when the page reloads. The copy button creates a text note. The stages are not a score or an automated truth assessment.
Other exercises
Dreams and prediction claims offers a way to try the same reasoning with problems of remembering and selecting examples. For a numerical headline, try the risk comparison.
Your claim investigation note
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Sources and provenance
Source check / web edition: 14 October 2026. Historical documents retain their own original dates.