How Reel Check works

How we check a reel

Watch all of itThe video, the sound, the words on screen and the caption.
List every claimEven the ones the reel only hints at — like a before-and-after cut that suggests a cause.
Check each claimAgainst official data, published studies and trusted news. Blogs and social posts are read, but never count as proof.
Follow the argumentTrue facts can still lead to a wrong ending. We check every step from start to finish.
Check our own sourcesIs each study real? Is it the right one? Was it taken back? Wrong links are removed and flagged.

What our labels mean

Every claim goes into one of four groups:

CORRECTWe know this — from evidence, or step by step from well-known science.

BROADLY CORRECTThe main point is right, but a detail differs — who said it, what exactly was said, when, or how much. We show what's correct first, then the details.

NOT PROVENToday's evidence can't prove it or rule it out. We say what's known on each side, and what would settle it.

WRONGEvidence, or well-known science, says otherwise.

The reel's argument gets its own label:

CorrectBroadly correctPartly correctNot correctNot proven yet

The big headline is where the reel lands — what it builds up to:

Fully correctBroadly correct, details differMain point correct, numbers wrongHalf-truthTrue facts, wrong conclusionNot proven yet

A reel can get a detail wrong and still be right about its point, or get every fact right and still land somewhere false. So the headline judges the point, and the count of claims — like “2 correct · 1 wrong” — always sits beside it, so nobody has to argue with a single word. A reel that only lists facts, with no point to judge, gets a headline weighed across its claims: True, Mostly true, Mixed, Mostly false or False.

For news, every check shows a timeline of what happened and when, ending with the day the reel was posted — so you can see when the story began, and when the reel shared it.

Our rules

Same rules for everyoneEvery reel gets the same checks, whoever posted it.

Every source shownEach source is linked, so you can follow it yourself. Every link is opened and checked before it goes up.

Evidence, not votesReader votes decide what we review first. Only evidence changes a verdict.

Claims, not opinions“Cricket is the best sport” is an opinion. “Cricket burns more calories than running” can be checked.

We say who did itEvery check names the AI model and the date. A person handles every challenge and correction.

Corrections in the openWhen a verdict changes, the page says when and why. The old version stays readable.

Nobody buys a verdictPeople who ask for checks pay for them. No creator, brand or party can pay for a result.

Your privacyWe never show who asked about a reel — only how many people did.

Our limits, said plainly

This is a private service that does its best. An AI writes each check, and no person reads it before it goes up.
We don't ask the creator for their side first. Any creator can answer through the box on their check, and we will show their reply once we know it's them.
AI can make mistakes — even citing studies that don't exist. That's why we look up every study it names, and say when one doesn't check out.

What we can't check

An AI reading sources cannot judge these honestly, so we don't pretend to. If you send one, the bot says so and the check is free.

Naming music by ear — a raga, a song, a singer, an instrument.
Naming a person from their face or voice.
Whether a video, photo or voice is AI-made, edited or a deepfake.
Where or when a clip was filmed, from the picture alone.
Predictions — prices, results, astrology.
Faith and spiritual claims that evidence cannot test.
Private facts nobody can see, like someone's income.
Advice for your own health, legal or money situation.
Private accounts, stories that have expired, and live videos — we cannot see them.

When a reel mixes these with ordinary claims, we check the claims and say plainly what we could not judge.

Truth seekers

Check a reel before anyone else and everyone who asks after you gets the answer free. For every 10 of them, you get a free check. Pick a name to show and you join our truth-seekers list, with a certificate to post. Names are approved by us, and are never your Instagram ID.

A work in progress

Reel Check is in beta: new, still being built, and sometimes wrong — we correct mistakes in the open. See what's next and vote for what you want — the most-wanted features get built first.

Found a mistake?

Use the box on any check. You get a ticket number, and a person reviews it. If it changes a verdict, the page is updated and dated, and the old version is kept. Our Telegram bot can tell you what we decided.

Fact-checks you can check