Asking good questions
A short set of questions that open up any claim, and how to ask them in a group chat without starting a fight.
Six questions for any claim
- What exactly is the claim? Pull out the checkable part and make it precise (lesson 1).
- Who says so, and how do they know? Find out who's behind it by reading laterally (lessons 2 and 3).
- What's the evidence, and how strong is it? A story, one study, or many agreeing (lesson 1).
- Compared to what? The baseline, the denominator, last year (lesson 8).
- What's missing? The other data, the full video, the original context (lessons 7 and 9).
- Who benefits if I believe it or share it? A seller, a page chasing clicks, a cause?
Check yourself
Match each situation to the question that cracks it
Show the answer
- "Thefts are up 40% in our area" → Compared to what?
- A 10-second clip of someone losing their temper → What's missing?
- "A top doctor recommends this" with no name → Who says so?
- "This tea may help with many problems" → What exactly is the claim?
- A shop's post saying its own supplement is a miracle → Who benefits?
THE POWER QUESTION
If this were true, what else would be true?
Real events leave traces everywhere. A giant event would be reported by many independent outlets. A "secret cure" would show up in clinical trials and hospital guidelines. A real quote would come with a date, a place and a recording. So imagine the claim is true and list what else you'd expect to find. If none of it is there, that silence is a clue.
"A major airline has banned all phones on board from tomorrow." If true: the airline's website would say so, travel news would be full of it, and friends who fly would be talking about it. You find none of that.
Check yourself
A forwarded message says a whole city was evacuated yesterday because of a gas leak. You check, and not one news outlet mentions it. Which question exposes the problem best?
- Who benefits if I share this?
- If this were true, what else would be true?
- Is the message well written?
- How many people have forwarded it?
Show the answer
If this were true, what else would be true?
Right. Evacuating a city would be one of the biggest stories of the day, with officials, photos and live coverage. The complete absence of all that is strong evidence it didn't happen.
Claim: "Crime rose 40%"
Compared to what?
From how many? 10 cases -> 14 cases
Over what period? this March vs last March
Where? one neighbourhood of 8,000 people40% is true: 4 more cases, in one month, in one small area.
A different month, or the whole city, might show no rise at all.A percentage without its starting number, time span and place is half a claim. "Compared to what?" fills in the other half.
Check yourself
A post says, "Road accidents in our province rose 40%". What's the most useful follow-up question?
- Who wrote the post?
- From how many to how many, and over what period?
- Is 40% a lot?
- Why do people drive so badly?
Show the answer
From how many to how many, and over what period?
Yes. 5 to 7 accidents in a week and 5,000 to 7,000 in a year are both "40%", and they mean very different things. The starting number and the time span make the percentage meaningful.
QUOTE CHECK
When and where did they say it?
Famous names sell quotes, so quotes get invented or pinned on the wrong person. Many lines credited to Einstein, for example, have no known source in anything he wrote or said. A real quote can be traced to a date, a place and a document (a book, a speech, an interview). Search the quote in inverted commas with the words "quote" or "source", or check a quote-verification site.
A picture of Einstein with the line: "The internet will make people foolish." Einstein died in 1955, decades before the internet existed.
Asking beats telling
Telling
"This is fake, you fell for it again."
The person hears an attack on their judgement. They defend the post, and now they're defending themselves too.
Asking
"Where's this from? I couldn't find it anywhere else. What made you trust it?"
The person is invited to check with you. Nobody has to lose face.
Check yourself
Your uncle posts a doubtful health claim in the family group. Which reply is most likely to lead to him checking it?
- "Fake. Please stop spreading nonsense."
- "Where's this from? I searched and couldn't find it anywhere else."
- "Only uneducated people believe this."
- Say nothing and leave the group
Show the answer
"Where's this from? I searched and couldn't find it anywhere else."
Right. A genuine question invites him to look, and your "I couldn't find it" gives him a reason to. It's hard to argue with a question; it's easy to argue with an accusation.
THE GOAL
Well-placed trust, not zero trust
"Question everything" sounds wise, but taken too far it slides into believing nothing, and that is just as easy to exploit. If every source is equally doubtful, the loudest voice wins, and anyone can say "you can't trust anyone" to wave away good evidence. The aim is to be specific and curious: trust sources that have earned it, and check the claims that need it.
"Doctors lie, the news lies, scientists lie." After that, the only voice left standing is the post that said it.
Check yourself
The safest attitude online is to trust no source at all, since that way you can never be fooled.
Show the answer
False
False. Trusting nothing leaves you unable to rely on good sources, and it's easy to exploit: "you can't trust anyone, so trust me" is a classic pitch. The goal is well-placed trust, earned by the source and checked when it matters.
Forwarded: "URGENT. WHO warns of a new illness spreading
through tap water. Boil everything. Share with your family."
What exactly is the claim? A new illness, spreading through
tap water, warned about by WHO.
Who says so? No link, no date, no country.
If true, what else? A notice on who.int, health
ministry advice, major news.
What did the check find? Nothing on the WHO site or in
any major outlet.Verdict: don't share. Reply: "I looked on the WHO site and
couldn't find this. Does anyone have the link?"Five minutes, no expertise needed. Real WHO warnings are published on its own site and repeated by health ministries and major news outlets.
Check yourself
Genuine question, or an accusation dressed up as one?
- "Where did you first see this?"
- "Do you really believe everything you read?"
- "Is there a date on the original?"
- "Why do you always share this kind of thing?"
- "What convinced you it's true?"
- "Didn't you check before embarrassing yourself?"
Show the answer
Genuine question: "Where did you first see this?", "Is there a date on the original?", "What convinced you it's true?"
Accusation in disguise: "Do you really believe everything you read?", "Why do you always share this kind of thing?", "Didn't you check before embarrassing yourself?"
Lesson recap
- Six questions open up most claims: what exactly, who says so, how strong the evidence, compared to what, what's missing, who benefits.
- "If this were true, what else would be true?" Real events leave traces; missing traces are a clue.
- A percentage needs its starting number, time span and place before it means anything.
- Quotes need a date, a place and a source. Famous names attract invented lines.
- In a group chat, ask rather than tell: "Where's this from? I couldn't find it elsewhere."
- Aim for well-placed trust, not zero trust. Believing nothing is as easy to exploit as believing everything.