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Cross-Check from 3 Independent Sources

Every AI claim: search 3 independent sources. If absent from any, treat as hallucinated.

15 min Intermediate

Goal

Build automatic cross-check habit before using AI info externally.

Steps

  1. 1
    Extract 3 specific claims from AI answer (numbers, dates, names).
4 more steps locked

Expected Outcome

Immediate
You catch 1-2 hallucinated claims per 5.

Evidence base

School: Civic Online Reasoning / SIFT

Founders: Sam Wineburg · Mike Caulfield (2018)

Caulfield's SIFT (Stop, Investigate, Find, Trace) from Washington 2018 advises tracing every claim to its primary source.

Keywords

Frequently asked questions

How long does "Cross-Check from 3 Independent Sources" take?
This exercise takes about 15 minutes, practiced solo in a Behavioral format.
When will I notice the effect of "Cross-Check from 3 Independent Sources"?
You catch 1-2 hallucinated claims per 5. In the short term: You develop "intuition" for when model hallucinates (small numbers, rare dates, secondary names).
Is "Cross-Check from 3 Independent Sources" evidence-based?
Yes — it draws on Civic Online Reasoning / SIFT (Sam Wineburg, Mike Caulfield (2018)). Caulfield's SIFT (Stop, Investigate, Find, Trace) from Washington 2018 advises tracing every claim to its primary source.
Is "Cross-Check from 3 Independent Sources" suitable for beginners?
Its difficulty level is: Intermediate. No external tools required — it can be practiced directly inside the app.

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