Learning outcomes
- Explain how to recognise when claims need independent verification.
- Complete the guided activity safely.
- Check that you can apply proportionate fact checking.
Web Search and Research
Avoiding Misinformation
Learn to recognise when claims need independent verification and apply proportionate fact checking in this beginner-friendly ChatGPT lesson.
Before you begin
Write the question, required date range and preferred source types before searching. Plan to open and verify important sources yourself.
Step-by-step instructions
- Open ChatGPT Search or Deep Research where available and confirm you are using the intended account or workspace.
- Flag dates, statistics, quotations and high-stakes advice in a sample answer.
- Pause and check privacy, permissions, source material, feature availability and any instruction that affects the task.
- Review the result carefully and confirm that you can apply proportionate fact checking.
- Save only the useful, verified output and record one improvement for your next prompt.
Ian's practical tip: Start with fictional or non-sensitive information. Treat the first response as a draft, then verify facts, sources, calculations and permissions before using it.
Practical activity
Flag dates, statistics, quotations and high-stakes advice in a sample answer. Your expected result is to apply proportionate fact checking.