Many things you find on the internet have been stripped of context. For example, a video of a fight between two people could be available. But what happened before that? Who started it? What was clipped out of the video, and what stayed in? A picture may seem real, but the caption is dubious at best. Maybe a claim is made about a new medical treatment supposedly based on a research paper—but you're not certain if the paper supports it.
In these cases, we'll have you trace the claim, quote, or media back to the source so you can see it in its original context and feel that the version you saw was accurately presented.
Determine the type or purpose of the source. If it is:
a summary or overview of a book or research study, look for the actual book or study
an interview with a researcher or author, look for sources the person being interviewed has published
a photo or image, try Reverse Image Search using Google or Tin Eye.
Try using fact-checking sites such as Snopes, Politifact, SciCheck, and FactCheck.org..
Look at reference information sites, such as Wikipedia.