---
name: fact-check-pass
description: "Run a claim-by-claim fact-check pass on a draft article, script, or report before publication. Use when asked to fact-check a piece, verify claims before publishing, or do editorial verification. Produces a claim inventory (every checkable assertion pulled out), a verification status and source for each (confirmed / needs sourcing / unverifiable / wrong), the fixes, and a flag on the high-risk claims (numbers, quotes, names, legal/defamatory statements) that must not go out unverified."
---

# Fact-Check Pass Skill

Everything in a published piece is a claim someone can be wrong about — a date, a number, a quote, an implication. This skill does what a good fact-checker does: it pulls every checkable assertion out of the prose, verifies each against a source, and stops the high-risk ones (stats, quotes, anything defamatory) from going out on a "probably right."

## Working from a brief

Given the draft, **produce the claim inventory and status** — check what you can against the provided/known sources, and for anything you can't verify, mark it clearly rather than guessing. Never assert a fact is confirmed without a basis.

## Required Inputs

Ask for (if not provided, else infer and label):
- **The draft** (article, script, report)
- **Available sources** — the reporter's notes, documents, links, transcripts
- **Risk level / venue** — where it publishes and how litigious/high-stakes the subject is

## Output Format

### Claim inventory
Every checkable assertion extracted:

| # | Claim (as written) | Type | Status | Source / basis | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|

- **Type:** number/stat · quote · name/title · date · causal/implied · characterization.
- **Status:** ✅ confirmed · 🟡 needs sourcing · ⚠️ unverifiable · 🔴 wrong/misleading.

### High-risk flags
The claims that must not publish unverified — statistics, direct quotes and their attribution, named individuals (especially any allegation), superlatives ("first," "only," "largest"), and anything potentially defamatory. Each with what's needed to clear it.

### Fixes
For every 🔴/⚠️: the correction, a hedge to the supportable version, or "cut it." For 🟡: the source to obtain.

### Sign-off
What's still open before this can publish, and a note that quotes should be confirmed with the speaker/transcript and legal review sought for anything defamatory.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] Every checkable claim is inventoried, not just the obvious ones
- [ ] Each claim has a status and a named source/basis (or is marked unverifiable)
- [ ] Numbers, quotes, names, and superlatives are treated as high-risk and flagged
- [ ] Potentially defamatory statements are flagged for verification and legal review
- [ ] Nothing is marked confirmed without an actual basis
- [ ] Every problem claim has a concrete fix (correct / hedge / cut)

## Anti-Patterns

- Reading for tone instead of extracting discrete claims
- Marking something "confirmed" on memory or vibes
- Letting a round number or a paraphrased quote through unchecked
- Missing implied/causal claims because they're not stated as facts
- Waving through a defamatory line without verification or legal input
- Rewriting the prose instead of flagging and sourcing the facts

## Example Trigger Phrases

- "Fact-check a piece."
- "Verify claims before publishing."
- "Do editorial verification."