claim-verification

Claim Verification

A claim + (optional) sources → a verdict with evidence and a calibrated confidence.

Purpose

Before a claim ships in a post, brief, or video, it should be checked. This skill takes a single claim, gathers or accepts sources, and returns a structured verdict that separates what the evidence supports from what it doesn't — with honest confidence, not false certainty.

When it fires

• Keyword triggers: verify, fact-check, is this true, confirm, source check, debunk
• File triggers: claims.md, fact-check/**
• Command triggers: /claim-verification

Inputs

Input	Required	Notes
claim	yes	The exact statement to check.
sources	no	Provided URLs/quotes; else the skill gathers them.
strictness	no	standard (default) or high (primary sources only).

Workflow

1. Restate the claim precisely — pin the testable assertion; flag ambiguity. ✅ Check: the claim is falsifiable as stated.
2. Gather evidence — find/accept sources; prefer primary and authoritative.
3. Weigh — does the evidence support, refute, or only partly cover the claim? Note source quality and any conflict.
4. Verdict + confidence — assign one of the four verdicts and a confidence level with a one-line rationale.
5. Cite — quote the decisive evidence with locations.

Output contract

{
  "claim": "string — restated precisely",
  "verdict": "supported | refuted | partially-supported | unverifiable",
  "confidence": "low | medium | high",
  "evidence": [{ "quote": "string", "source": "string" }],
  "rationale": "string",
  "caveats": ["string"]
}

Tools & MCP

• Tools: WebSearch, WebFetch, Read.
• MCP dependencies: optional docs/library MCP for technical claims.

Quality bar

• Verdict matches the evidence; unverifiable is used honestly.
• Confidence is calibrated, not defaulted to "high".
• Every verdict-driving quote is real and located.
• Source quality is considered, not just source count.

Example

Input: "The James Webb Space Telescope orbits the Earth." → verdict refuted (it orbits the Sun–Earth L2 point), high confidence, with a cited NASA source.

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Built on SIP — Starlight Intelligence Protocol Substrate: starlightintelligence.org/protocol v1.1.0 Layers used: [file-contract, attestation, sovereignty] Vertical: starlight-agent-skills · portable capability layer