Before you share a headline, check these five things

A claim can travel faster than the context needed to understand it. You do not have to investigate every story yourself, but you can decide whether a link deserves to be repeated with confidence.

1. Open the actual page

Read beyond the preview card. Check whether the article supports the strongest part of the headline and whether the key statement is a fact, a quote, an allegation or an opinion.

If the page cannot be found, that is a reason to withhold certainty—not an invitation to fill in the missing content from a screenshot.

2. Check the date and the scope

An older report can be accurate about its own moment and misleading when shared as a new development. Look for the publication date and any update note.

Also check the place and group described. A local observation, a small survey and a national claim are not interchangeable. The headline may not preserve that distinction on its own.

3. Follow the evidence one step back

Ask where the central claim comes from. Is there a document, a named source or accessible original reporting? A chain of pages repeating one another does not necessarily add independent support.

You may not be able to resolve the question immediately. In that case, describe the uncertainty or choose not to share. “I do not know yet” is a useful conclusion.

4. Read the image as a separate claim

A striking photograph can create an impression the text does not establish. Look for a caption, credit and explanation of when and where it was made.

An illustrative image is not a record of an event. Cropping, editing and reuse can change context, so do not let an image stand in for evidence that has not been supplied.

5. Notice what your own caption adds

Even a careful article can become misleading when it is shared with an exaggerated summary. Check whether your wording increases the certainty, broadens the scope or invents a motive.

A helpful share can include the source, the date and the part still unresolved. The purpose is not to win a race to react; it is to avoid making someone else’s understanding less accurate.