By FactInfoLive · Published 2026-11-12 · Updated 2026-11-12
The short answer Google Fact Check Explorer is a search tool for fact checks that other organisations have already published. The Google News Initiative describes it as "a search engine for fact checks." It does not check claims itself. If a claim has not been fact-checked by a participating publisher, the tool will have nothing to show.
What it searches According to the Google News Initiative, the tools let you search for stories and images that have already been debunked. Gizmodo's guide explains that the Explorer draws on the fact-check markup that Google makes available to publishers, and that the fact checks are not carried out or verified by Google; Google indexes them. That is a secondary description, so check the Google page above for the official wording.
Step by step Following the Google News Initiative's lesson:
1. Go to toolbox.google.com/factcheck/explorer. 2. Type a keyword to see the latest fact checks tagged with it, or, according to Google's lesson, upload an image to see whether it has been fact-checked before. Gizmodo's article describes image search as still being in the pipeline, so this feature may differ by when and where you use it. 3. Results are listed by recency and show the publishing organisation and its rating, such as "false" or "incorrect." 4. Click the link to read the full fact check. Read it rather than relying on the rating label alone. 5. To see all topics, click "Recent fact checks." To search one publisher, Google says to use the site: modifier with its URL plus a keyword.
Who gets listed Google's developer documentation says publishers mark up their articles with ClaimReview structured data. Its eligibility guidelines include having several pages marked up, a clear corrections policy or way for users to report errors, and analysis that is traceable and transparent about sources and methods with references to primary sources. Political entities such as campaigns, parties and elected officials are not eligible, and the claim must come from an origin separate from the site. Gizmodo summarises the effect: you cannot run a check on any claim you like, because it must have been published by a source Google accepts and picked up.
One recent change to know about The same developer page says Google is phasing out support for ClaimReview markup in Google Search, though the markup remains supported by the Fact Check Explorer. We did not find details of what this means in practice, so the situation may change.
Limits and how to work around them Gizmodo notes results tend to appear for claims that are contentious, disputed and widely circulated, so a new or local rumour may return nothing. An empty result does not mean a claim is true; it only means no indexed fact check was found. Ratings also come from different publishers with their own scales (Google's documentation shows an example scale from "False" to "True" but publishers may use their own wording).
If the Explorer returns nothing, try different wording of the claim, search for the source of the image or quote, and use other verification methods such as lateral reading, which we cover in a separate guide. Compare more than one fact check when you can, and look at the date of each, since facts can change.