Five checks that work for any source, a checklist for academic work, and how to confirm that a research paper still stands.
Updated 29 October 2026
To check if a source is credible, find out who is behind it, what evidence it gives and what other reliable sources say about it. Trace claims back to where they started, make sure the source is current and hasn't been corrected or retracted, and for a research paper confirm the record and the journal. A .edu address, HTTPS or a top search ranking doesn't make a source credible.
Before you read closely, ask whether you know the website or publisher and its reputation. If you don't, check it before you trust, cite or share it.
Leave the page and search for the author, publisher or organisation. What do independent sources say about their expertise, their funding and their record?
Search for the claim itself. If reliable outlets, reviews or reference works report it the same way, cite one of them; if nobody else does, be cautious.
Follow quotes, figures and studies back to where they first appeared, and check that the original says what the source claims.
Look at the date, updates and correction notices. For research, check whether the paper has been corrected or retracted.
Checks 1 to 4 follow SIFT, Mike Caulfield's four moves: stop, investigate the source, find better coverage, trace claims to the original context.
Many university libraries teach this checklist. Use it alongside the checks above, because a checklist applied to the page alone can't tell you what others say about the source.
The CRAAP test is from the Meriam Library, California State University, Chico.
Crossref and Retraction Watch: how retractions are recorded. Journal checklist: Think. Check. Submit.
Wakefield, A. J., et al. (1998). Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 351(9103), 637–641. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0
Verdict: not credible as evidence for its claims. Cite it only when writing about the retraction itself.
A real record, a major journal and thousands of citations didn't make it credible; the update check did the work. See the Crossref record and the retraction notice. Records checked on 29 October 2026.
For a viral claim, search a fact-checking database such as Google Fact Check Explorer.
The Source Credibility Checker matches an article URL, DOI or title against Crossref, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar and DataCite and shows available retraction evidence.
The Website Credibility Checker shows a page's authorship, dates, references and editorial disclosures.
Neither decides whether a claim is true; that part is the reading above. Your first check each day is free, with no signup.
No. Peer review lowers the risk but doesn't remove it: articles get corrected and retracted, and some journals claim a peer review they don't carry out. Check the record and the journal.
Not on its own. Tools can confirm facts about a source, such as whether a record exists, whether it was retracted and who published a page, but weighing the evidence is up to you.
Search the exact title in a scholarly database, compare the details with the record, open the DOI and check for a retraction. Step by step: how to check if a reference is real.