# News Summary Primary-Source Check

For the method in
[Before You Trust an AI News Summary, Check the Primary Source](/articles/news-summary-check-primary-source).
Independently measured sourcing error rates make this a five-minute habit worth keeping, not a
one-time exercise.

## Not for

A claim that arrived as a forwarded post rather than a chatbot summary - use the
[viral claim source-trace worksheet](/downloads/articles/viral-claim-source-trace.md) instead.

## Step 1: The AI summary as given

- Tool used:
- Search/browsing mode on? ☐ Yes ☐ No
- Summary text or key points:

## Step 2: The three claims that matter most

| Claim | Type (number / quote / attribution / outcome) |
| --- | --- |
| | |
| | |
| | |

## Step 3: Primary source found

- Original outlet/article:
- Link:
- Named in the AI summary? ☐ Yes ☐ No

## Step 4: Side-by-side comparison

| Claim | Matches exactly | Matches with different wording | Not supported |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |

## Step 5: Opinion vs. fact check

- [ ] Anything the summary states as fact is actually the article's own reporting, not a quoted opinion
- [ ] No editorializing or framing was added that isn't in the original

## Decision

☐ Safe to repeat/act on as summarized
☐ Repeat only with corrected/primary-source wording
☐ Do not repeat - could not confirm against a primary source

## The two prompts to reuse

**1. Extract the checkable claims**

```text
Here is an AI-generated summary of a news story: [paste it]. List the
three most specific, checkable factual claims in this summary -
prioritize numbers, quotes, and anything attributed to a named person
or organization.
```

**2. Compare against the primary source**

```text
Here is the original article: [paste relevant section]. Here are the
claims from the AI summary: [paste them]. For each claim, tell me
whether the original article supports it exactly, supports it with
different wording or nuance, or does not support it at all. Do not
soften a mismatch - flag it plainly.
```