# Health Claim Source-Trace Worksheet

For the method in [Check a Health Claim Before Sharing It](/articles/verify-health-claim-before-sharing).
Use AI to find and organize sources - never to render a truth verdict.

## Not for

Urgent personal health questions, or anything about your own symptoms or medications. Those go
to a pharmacist or your clinician, not to a source-trace exercise.

## Step 1: The original message

- Where I saw it (chat, app, article):
- Who shared it:
- Full text or screenshot reference:

## Step 2: The specific, checkable claim (strip the framing)

One plain sentence:

## Step 3: Source chain

| Source named by AI or the original post | Type (health authority / peer-reviewed / other) | Did I open it myself? | Does it actually say this? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | ☐ Yes ☐ No | |
| | | ☐ Yes ☐ No | |

## Step 4: Applicability check

- Population or context the source actually covers:
- How recent the source is:
- Qualifications the source itself states:

## Step 5: Decision

☐ Share as-is - source supports the claim as stated
☐ Share with context - source is real but needs a caveat: ______________________
☐ Do not share - source does not support the claim, or could not be verified

Reason for this decision, in one sentence:

## The three prompts to reuse

**1. Extract the checkable claim**

```text
Here is a health-related message I received: [paste it]. Extract the
single specific, checkable factual claim being made, in one plain
sentence. Ignore the tone, urgency, and any call to action - I only
want the underlying claim.
```

**2. Find sources, not verdicts**

```text
For this claim: "[claim from step 2]" - find what kind of sources
typically address this topic (health authorities, peer-reviewed
research, professional medical bodies) and suggest specific
organizations or publications I should check directly. Do not tell me
whether the claim is true - I will check the sources myself.
```

**3. Check applicability**

```text
Here is what the source actually says: [paste the relevant section].
Help me identify: what population or context this applies to, how
recent it is, and any qualifications the source itself states. Do not
add a conclusion about whether the original claim is fair - just
surface what the source itself says and doesn't say.
```

## Before you forward anything

- [ ] I opened the named source myself - I did not trust the AI's summary of it
- [ ] The source still applies to the general claim, not just a narrow case
- [ ] My decision (share / share with context / do not share) is written down with a reason
- [ ] If this is about my own health, I asked a pharmacist or clinician instead of relying on this worksheet