Checking a claim, step by step

Most false stories are not clever. They fall apart when someone asks a few plain questions. Ask them every time, in this order.

## 1. Who is saying it?
Find the first person or organisation that made the claim. A screenshot of a "notice" is not a notice. Is it on the official website or the verified account of the body it claims to come from? Government notifications in India are published in the Gazette (egazette.gov.in) and central government press releases on the PIB website (pib.gov.in).

## 2. Where is the original?
Find the full document, the full video or the full speech — not the clip. A sentence taken out of its paragraph can mean the opposite of what was said.

## 3. When was it said?
Old news shared as new is one of the most common kinds of misinformation. Check the date on the document, the post and the event itself.

## 4. Do the numbers make sense?
- What is the number out of? "500 cases" means little without the population or the earlier figure.
- Is it the same period? Compare a month with a month, a year with a year.
- Is it a percentage or percentage points? A rise from 4% to 6% is 2 percentage points, or 50%.
- Indian and international units: 1 lakh = 100,000 and 1 crore = 10 million. Write them consistently.

## 5. Who else would know?
Call the office concerned, the police station, the hospital, the company. Write down who you spoke to and when. If they will not comment, say so in the story.