4) On what grounds might we doubt a claim?

I think all claims should be investigated without judgement or opinion initially if …

- the relayer of the claim is known to not have high evaluative standards before transmitting claims to others or believing them themselves.

- the claim doesn’t fit into known, well-established facts about the world.

- the relayer of the claim or the initial creator of the claim seeks advantage by dispersing this claim.

- core information in the claim is missing or misleading.

- context in which the nature of the information in the claim exists is not given in full or as objectively as possible.

- emotional and subjective language is used in expressing the claim.

- evidence is weak, unconnected, or not given. (The more academically knowledgable one is on the topic, the more advanced their literacy will be in the topic.)

 

Other than these instances, we should all fact-check as much as we can, even when the source is trusted. Though it is up to the editorial staff in media and publishing companies to fact-check their own work, the least we can do as individuals is to consult a non-allied source which is also trustworthy for their expression of the same claim.