Transparency in Information Verification
Open Book Protocol
Data Sources & Methodology
Transparency in Information Verification
The Open Record is committed to providing accurate, unbiased fact-checking services. This page details exactly how we gather, process, and categorize information to help you make informed decisions.
🔍 Primary Data Sources
Google Fact Check Tools API
Our primary source for fact-checking data is Google’s Fact Check Tools API, which aggregates fact-checks from verified organizations worldwide.
What this includes:
- Snopes.com – Independent fact-checking organization
- PolitiFact.com – Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checker
- FactCheck.org – University of Pennsylvania project
- AFP Fact Check – Agence France-Presse verification service
- Full Fact – UK-based fact-checking charity
- 100+ other verified fact-checking organizations globally
How it works: When you submit a claim, we search Google’s database of published fact-checks. If multiple fact-checkers have analyzed the same claim, we show all available results.
📊 Source Classification System
We categorize all sources into four transparent tiers to help you evaluate information quality:
🔍 Dedicated Fact-Checkers
Organizations whose primary mission is fact-checking and verification
Why we trust them: These organizations follow International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) standards, have transparent methodologies, and focus exclusively on verification.
📰 Independent News Sources
Established news organizations with strong editorial independence and minimal political bias
Bias Classification: We use AllSides.com ratings to identify sources with “Center” or “Lean Left/Right” classifications that maintain strong factual accuracy.
🏛️ Government & Educational Sources
Official agencies and academic institutions with access to authoritative data
Educational: Universities, research institutions, peer-reviewed studies
Important note: While these sources often have the most authoritative data, they may reflect institutional biases or policy agendas. We present them transparently so you can factor this into your evaluation.
⚠️ Politically Leaning Sources
Reputable news outlets with clear political orientations
Right-leaning: Fox News, New York Post, Wall Street Journal editorial content
Bias Classification: Based on AllSides.com ratings. We clearly label the political lean and recommend considering multiple perspectives.
⚖️ External Bias Assessment
To maintain objectivity, we do not make our own determinations about media bias. Instead, we rely on established, independent organizations:
AllSides.com Media Bias Ratings
AllSides.com provides our primary bias classifications. They use a combination of:
- Editorial review by people across the political spectrum
- Third-party academic research
- Community feedback and challenges
- Regular rating updates and reviews
When AllSides doesn’t have a rating: We classify sources manually using their published methodology and flag them as “pending external verification.”
🔄 How Our System Works
Step 1: Claim Analysis
When you submit text, our system extracts verifiable factual claims and searches for existing fact-checks.
Step 2: Database Search
We search Google’s Fact Check Tools API for published analyses of your claim. This happens in real-time.
Step 3: Source Categorization
All results are automatically sorted into our four-tier system based on source type and bias ratings.
Step 4: Transparent Display
We show you all available information with clear labeling of source reliability and potential bias.
🛡️ Quality Assurance
Real-time vs. Sample Data
We clearly label whether results come from:
- 🔴 LIVE DATA: Real-time results from fact-checking APIs
- 📊 DEMO DATA: Enhanced sample database (when no live fact-checks exist)
Status Determination
We use fact-checkers’ original language to determine claim status:
- FALSE: “False,” “Not true,” “Incorrect,” “Misleading,” “No evidence”
- MIXED: “Partially true,” “Missing context,” “Needs context”
- TRUE: “True,” “Correct,” “Accurate”
⚠️ Limitations & Disclaimers
What We Can’t Do
- Original fact-checking: We aggregate existing fact-checks, not create new ones
- Complete coverage: New or uncommon claims may not have fact-checks available
- Real-time updates: Fact-checks reflect information available when published
- Opinion verification: We focus on factual claims, not subjective opinions
Important Notes
- Fact-checkers can disagree – we show all available perspectives
- Context matters – a claim true in one situation may be false in another
- Information evolves – scientific understanding and facts can change over time
- We recommend checking multiple sources for important decisions
🔗 External Dependencies
Our service relies on several external APIs and services:
- Google Fact Check Tools API: Primary fact-checking data
- AllSides.com: Media bias classifications
- Plausible Analytics: Privacy-focused usage analytics
If any external service experiences issues, we clearly communicate the impact to users.
🔒 Privacy & Data Use
We follow an “Open Book Protocol” – complete transparency about data collection:
- What we track: Usage patterns, claim search frequency, source clicks
- What we don’t track: Personal information, claim content, browsing history
- Data retention: 24 months maximum for usage analytics
- Your control: Contact us anytime for data deletion
See our full Privacy Policy for details.
📧 Feedback & Suggestions
Help us improve!
Found a source that should be classified differently? Discovered a fact-check we missed? Have suggestions for our methodology?
Contact us: contact@theopenrecord.org
We review all feedback and update our classifications regularly.
🔄 Updates & Changes
This methodology page is updated whenever we:
- Add new data sources or APIs
- Change classification criteria
- Update bias rating services
- Modify our processing algorithms
All changes are logged with dates and explanations.
