Fact-check and validate outputs

Validation means independent checks: primary sources, recalculation and traceable evidence.

Key ideas

Go to primary sources

Official legislation databases, regulator sites, the original study, the publisher's catalogue, the competitor's own documentation.

Triangulate key inputs

Check important assumptions against independent data, such as last year's actuals, benchmarks or expert review.

Make outputs traceable

Ask Claude to quote the supporting passage, give the clause number or list the record IDs it counted, then spot-check those.

Know what isn't verification

Asking “are you sure?”, Claude's stated confidence, two chats agreeing, or regenerating until answers match. None of these test the facts.

Current facts need live sources

Prices, rates, regulations and recent events may have changed after Claude's knowledge cutoff. Use web search or official sites.

Scale effort to stakes

Light checks for internal brainstorming; rigorous checks for anything public, contractual, financial or safety-related.

Worked example

Claude reports that 35% of 200 support tickets concern login problems.

Why: A traceable count can be checked quickly; a self-assessment can't.

Common traps

• Treating self-review as independent verification (it's a useful first pass, no more).
• Accepting a citation because the source is reputable, without finding the claim in it.
• Using a figure because it “matches what we remember”.