The WasThatTrue blog

32% of US adults get news from YouTube regularly. But unlike social media, very few viewers check the claims they hear.

Not every claim is simply true or false. When credible studies disagree, forcing a verdict is dishonest. Here's how we handle it.

A transparent look at how the extension retrieves, ranks, and presents source material for every fact-check.

A short skill borrowed from professional fact-checkers that works on websites, articles, and YouTube videos.

Hallucinated citations are a structural feature of how language models work, not a passing bug. Here is what that means and how to protect yourself.

WasThatTrue waits for you to click instead of scanning every claim. Here is why user-triggered fact-checking beats automatic moderation on YouTube videos.

A three-hour episode can pack dozens of unsourced claims into one sitting. Here is a practical way to check them, one claim at a time, without losing the thread.

The illusory truth effect makes repeated claims feel true, even false ones. Here is the psychology behind it and how to protect your judgment.

Supplements, diets, and miracle cures fill YouTube. Here is a practical way to check a health claim against real medical evidence before you act on it.

A real number can still mislead. Here is how to catch cherry-picked dates, missing baselines, and stretched charts in a YouTube video.

The most common video lie is not a fake. It is real footage with the wrong frame. Here is how to trace a clip back to what really happened.

You scrutinize claims you disagree with and wave through the ones you like. Here is how confirmation bias works on YouTube and how to check past it.

Doing your own research is a good instinct, but a careless search can make a false claim feel more true. Here is why it backfires and how to research well.