AI can link a real source and still make up the fact. Find the sentence, run four checks, and make the AI quote the exact line.
Swipe or tap Next · checked on 2026-10-04
A link proves a page exists. It doesn't prove the page says what your draft says. The AI companies say so themselves:
The sneaky version isn't a fake link. It's a real link with a sentence that drifted. "Inquiries" turns into "customers." "Up to" goes missing. Last year turns into last month.
Go through the draft and highlight every number, name, date and fact. If a sentence could be wrong, it's a claim. Opinions, like "we love this job," aren't.
Click it. Does it open? Is it the page the draft means? If it's an article about a survey or a report, go find that survey or report. Check the original, not somebody's summary of it.
Search the page for the number or a key word from the claim.
No matching sentence? The claim isn't supported. Stop there and go to step 5.
If it matches, keep it. If it's close, rewrite the sentence to say what the source says. If it's not there, find better evidence or leave it out. A shorter true sentence beats a longer made-up one.
In your draft notes, paste the exact line from the source under each claim, with the link. The next person who checks it, including future you, doesn't have to start over.
This is the line from the video. Paste it under any AI draft that cites sources:
The one line
Show me the passage that supports each claim. Mark anything the source doesn't actually say.Then check its work anyway: the numbers, what they measure, and the dates. The fast way is to search for each quote it gives you, the same way as step 3.
For a longer draft, use the full version. Paste the source's text itself, not just the link. OpenAI notes the model may not be able to read a website because of technical issues, paywalls or the site's own settings. If it can't read the source, it can't check it.
The source-check prompt · lines 1-7 of 20. Copy all copies the whole prompt; read it in full on the page.
Check my draft against its source. Don't rewrite anything yet.
THE DRAFT
[paste your draft here]
THE SOURCE (the text itself, not just a link)
[paste the source text here, or attach the file]Take each quote from its table and search for it in the source with Find. If the quote isn't there word for word, the AI made up the quote too. Treat that claim as NOT FOUND. The AI's check is a help, not a guarantee. You're still the editor.
One per claim. Print a stack, or keep it in your notes app.
Source check, one per claim · Part 1 of 2 · Copy copies all 22 lines
SOURCE CHECK
Claim: _________________________
Link: __________________________
[ ] The link opens
[ ] It's the original source
[ ] Found the exact sentence
THE FOUR CHECKS
[ ] The claim: the source says it
[ ] Same words, same meaning
[ ] The number measures the
same thing
[ ] The dates match, still trueSource check, one per claim · Part 2 of 2 · Copy copies all 22 lines
DECISION
[ ] Keep it
[ ] Fix it to match the source
[ ] Find better evidence
[ ] Cut it
[ ] Quote saved under the claimEverything here is invented: the business, the article and the numbers. An AI draft for a marketing post says:
Lakeside Home Services gained 100 new customers last month from its new website.
It links to an article in the Example Town Business Journal. The link works. Search the article for "100" and you land on this sentence:
In March 2026, Lakeside Home Services received 100 inquiries through its new website.
Hang on. A hundred people asked a question. Nobody's bought anything. The fixed sentence says only what the source says:
In March 2026, Lakeside Home Services received 100 inquiries through its new website, the Example Town Business Journal reported.
Less exciting. Also true.
A working link proves the page exists. Find the sentence.
The number can be right and the word next to it wrong. 100 inquiries and 100 customers share a number.
Its check is a help, not a guarantee. Search for each quote it gives you.
A blog post about a survey isn't the survey. Go to the original.
It may not be able to open the page. Paste the text.
What each page backs up is listed at the end of the full guide.
AI just turned everybody who asked a question into a paying customer. I'd love that business. Let's check it exists.
Want help setting this up? Receipts Group builds these systems.
Open the full guide as a page (every file in full, plus the table of contents).