The Best Fact-Checking Websites for News

A good fact-checking site shows its working: the original claim, the evidence, links to every source and a clear verdict. The sites below do that consistently. Fact-checking has also changed fast since 2025, so this guide notes what has closed or moved.

Before trusting any fact-checker, including the ones listed here, look for five things:

• Membership of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). Signatories are assessed by independent reviewers and renewed every year against commitments on non-partisanship, transparency of sources, funding and methods, and honest corrections.
• Every source linked. You should be able to click through to the data or document behind the verdict.
• Claims from all sides. A site that only ever checks one party is doing advocacy, not fact-checking.
• A visible corrections policy.
• Funding disclosed. Who pays should be easy to find.

PolitiFact. The best-known US political fact-checker, run by the Poynter Institute. Its Truth-O-Meter rates claims from True to "Pants on Fire", and each rating links to its sources. Best for statements by US politicians and campaigns.

FactCheck.org. Run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. It does not use a rating scale; it explains in detail what is right and wrong in a claim. Best for long, technical claims about policy and budgets.

AP Fact Check. The Associated Press checks political statements and viral claims, drawing on its reporters worldwide. Best for fast checks during big news events.

Reuters Fact Check. Focuses on viral posts, images and videos circulating on social media. Best for checking whether a picture or clip is what it claims to be.

AFP Fact Check. Agence France-Presse runs fact-checking teams in many languages and countries. Best for claims that cross borders, and for non-English material.

Snopes. Running since 1994, it covers rumours, hoaxes, viral images and urban legends as well as politics. Best for "is this real?" questions about things shared online.

Lead Stories. Specialises in fast checks of trending hoaxes on social media.

Full Fact (UK). An independent charity that checks claims by UK politicians and media, and campaigns for corrections. Best for British politics.

BBC Verify (UK). The BBC's team for checking footage, images and data in the news. Best for verifying video from conflicts and breaking events.

Africa Check. Africa's first independent fact-checking organisation, with teams in several countries. Best for claims about Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Senegal.

• Google Fact Check Explorer searches published fact checks from outlets worldwide by keyword or image.
• The IFCN signatory directory lists verified fact-checkers by country, useful for finding a local one.
• Duke Reporters' Lab keeps a database of fact-checking projects worldwide; its June 2026 census counted 437 active projects.

• The Washington Post's Fact Checker column ended when Glenn Kessler, who ran it for almost 15 years, left the paper in July 2025.
• Meta stopped paying US fact-checkers in April 2025 and switched to community notes on Facebook, Instagram and Threads in the US. Outside the US, its fact-checking programme continues in many countries.
• Funding is tight. Duke's 2026 census found three times as many fact-checkers closed as opened in the previous year. Check that a site is still publishing before relying on an old article.

1. Search before you share. Put the claim's key words into Google Fact Check Explorer, then one or two of the sites above.
2. Check the date and the exact claim. Make sure the fact check is about the same version of the claim and that its numbers are still current.
3. Click through to the sources. A verdict is only as good as the evidence behind it. Read at least one source yourself.
4. Compare two fact-checkers. When two independent sites reach the same verdict from their own evidence, you can rely on it more.

Are fact-checkers biased? Any outlet can be. That is why the tests above matter: linked sources, checks of all sides and a corrections record let you judge for yourself rather than take anyone's word.

Is Measured Take a fact-checker? Yes. We publish fact checks with every source linked and a plain verdict. Hold us to the same five tests.

Which site is best for a viral photo or video? Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, BBC Verify and Snopes all check images and footage. A reverse image search often answers the question in seconds.