Fact Check Social Media Posts

Fact-Check Social Media Posts

Purpose

This skill helps verify claims in social media posts (50-500 words) by identifying the main assertion, checking evidence, evaluating source independence, and flagging rhetorical fallacies.

When to Use

• User shares text of a social media post or viral claim
• User provides a link to a post and asks for verification
• User asks "is this true?" about online content
• User wants to understand if sources are independent or circular

Process

1. Claim Identification

• Parse the post and identify the PRIMARY claim (the most important/central assertion)
• Present this claim to the user clearly
• Offer: "This appears to be the main claim. If you think something else is more important, let me know."

2. Triage Assessment

Before deep fact-checking, quickly assess:

• Uncontroversial: Widely accepted facts that don't need verification
• Disputed: Claims with conflicting evidence that need checking
• Misdirected controversy: Main point may be sound but sub-claims are contentious

State the triage result: "This claim is [uncontroversial/disputed/contains contentious sub-claims]"

If uncontroversial, explain why and ask if user still wants full verification.

3. Evidence Gathering (for disputed claims)

Use web_search to find:

• Sources supporting the claim
• Sources disputing the claim
• Original/primary sources if the claim references data, studies, or events

For EACH source found:

• Note the publication date
• Identify the type (individual blog, news organization, academic institution, government agency)
• Note named authors vs. anonymous/organizational authorship

4. Source Independence Analysis ⚠️ CRITICAL

This is the most important part. For each source, determine:

Independence factors:

• Does this source cite another source in your list? (circular citation)
• Is this PRIMARY reporting (original investigation/data) or SECONDARY (reporting on others' work)?
• Who published first? (temporal analysis)
• Do multiple sources trace back to a single origin point?
• Are sources quoting the same study/report/statement?

Create a citation chain:

Source A (primary) ← Source B (cites A) ← Source C (cites B)

Flag circular citations explicitly: "⚠️ Sources appear to derive from a single origin rather than independent verification"

Assess credibility:

• Large organization with history vs. individual author
• Track record of corrections/transparency
• Named authors and editorial oversight
• Potential conflicts of interest or ideological alignment

5. Ideological Alignment Check

• Note if supporting sources cluster on ideological/political spectrum
• Note if disputing sources cluster differently
• Flag when evidence comes primarily from one ideological perspective
• Be specific: "Supporting sources are primarily [progressive/conservative/libertarian] outlets"

6. Rhetorical Fallacy Detection 🚨 BE AGGRESSIVE

Flag common fallacies and rhetorical issues:

Headline-text mismatch:

• Headline claims X but text only supports weaker claim Y
• Clickbait or sensationalism

Appeal to authority:

• Claims "experts say" without naming them
• Misrepresents what authority actually said
• Authority cited outside their expertise

Cherry-picking:

• Selective data that ignores contrary evidence
• Unrepresentative examples

False equivalence:

• Treating unequal things as equal
• "Both sides" framing where evidence is asymmetric

Correlation/causation:

• Implies causation from correlation
• Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Emotional manipulation:

• Fear appeals without evidence
• Outrage bait

Other patterns:

• Loaded language
• Strawman arguments
• Slippery slope
• Ad hominem

Be specific about which fallacy and where it appears.

7. Output Format

Create a markdown report with these sections:

# Fact-Check Report

## Main Claim Identified
[State the primary claim clearly]

*If you think a different claim is more important, let me know and I'll analyze that instead.*

## Triage
[Uncontroversial/Disputed/Contains contentious sub-claims]
[Brief explanation]

## Evidence Summary
**Supporting Evidence:**
- [Source name] ([credibility type], published [date])
  - [What they claim]
  
**Disputing Evidence:**
- [Source name] ([credibility type], published [date])
  - [What they claim]

## Source Independence Analysis ⚠️
**Citation Chain:**
[Show how sources relate to each other]

**Independence Assessment:**
[Are sources independent or circular? Be explicit.]

**Credibility Factors:**
[Organization size, track record, authorship, conflicts of interest]

## Ideological Alignment
[Note any clustering of sources along ideological lines]

## Rhetorical Issues 🚨
[Aggressively flag any fallacies, mismatches, or manipulative framing]

## Bottom Line
[Clear statement: Is the claim supported by independent evidence or not?]
[Note confidence level and caveats]

Important Notes

• Be aggressive in flagging rhetorical issues - users want to know about potential manipulation
• Source independence is critical - many "multiple sources" are really one source cited multiple times
• Always remind users that AI can make mistakes and they should verify important claims
• If user provides a URL, use web_fetch to get the full content first
• For complex claims, focus on the PRIMARY assertion unless user redirects
• If sources are behind paywalls or inaccessible, note this limitation

Example Triggers

• "Can you fact-check this post?"
• "Is this claim true?"
• "I saw this on Twitter, seems suspicious"
• "Help me verify this viral claim"
• "Are these sources independent?"

Limitations to Acknowledge

• Cannot access paywalled content
• Temporal - can only find sources currently indexed on web
• Cannot definitively prove/disprove all claims
• Some claims may be unfalsifiable or opinion-based
• AI can make mistakes - user should verify for important decisions

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: cellear
• Source: cellear/claude-fact-check-skill
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.