Climate Claims Checklist for Political Journalism

Capture the verbatim line from C-SPAN, campaign livestreams, or pool reports with timestamp and event slug so the claim can be traced and clipped accurately across formats.

Record relevant references on Congress.gov, the Federal Register, and agency dockets (EPA, FERC) so subsequent fact checks anchor in the actual text of proposals or rules.

List primary sources first (NOAA climate data, EPA GHGI, EIA AEO/state profiles, NREL studies), then reputable secondary analyses, to avoid laundered claims from commentary.

Determine whether the assertion hinges on federal, state, or local authority using NCSL, state PUC filings, and governor executive orders to prevent misattribution.

Maintain a roster of grid operators, economists, and climate scientists with disclosed funding and affiliations so you can reach a neutral voice within a broadcast window.

Pull FEMA disaster declarations, BLS QCEW energy-sector employment, and EIA state generation mix to localize national claims without cherry-picking.

Rewrite broad assertions into discrete checks (timeframe, geography, metric) so each part can be proven or disproven against data and documents.

Confirm the unit and base (per capita vs total, nominal vs real dollars) using EIA, BEA, or BLS; annotate any CPI adjustments or seasonal effects.

For grid reliability or price claims, check NERC assessments, ISO/RTO event reports, and lag between policy enactment and observed changes to avoid post hoc errors.

When a statement cites renewable performance, verify whether it confuses installed capacity with actual output or mixes short-duration storage with baseload concepts.

Clarify whether the figure is Scope 1 territorial emissions (EPA GHGI), sectoral emissions, or lifecycle estimates; do not mix inventories without labeling.

If employment gains or losses are cited, split one-time build jobs from long-term O&M roles using BLS occupational series and project-level filings.

Use neutral descriptors like 'uncorroborated claim on X' and reserve stronger language for on-screen text only after verification.

Keep concise, citation-backed scripts on grid reliability, gas prices, and tax credits ready for anchors to deploy within 10-15 seconds on air.

Route potential falsehoods from segment producer to standards editor to anchor readout with a set timing (e.g., next block) to avoid silent errors.

Negotiate ground rules that allow moderators to pause or circle back for verification using a precompiled sourcing pack shared with all producers.

Insert dedicated chapters for corrections with links to primary documents in show notes so listeners can audit the evidence asynchronously.

When posting a soundbite that contains an unverified statement, add an immediate captioned correction and a URL to the sourcing page to prevent context collapse.

Avoid formulations that repeat the claim as fact; frame as 'asserts without evidence' or 'contradicted by agency data' once vetting is complete.

In the second or third paragraph, place the best-available data and primary sources so readers immediately see the benchmark for evaluation.

Attribute findings to agencies, datasets, and reports rather than 'critics' to minimize false balance and make the evidence trail explicit.

Summarize the substance of the claim in your own words and reserve direct quotes for necessary context to reduce amplification of inaccuracies.

Link directly to datasets, dockets, and statute text with a web archive backup and file mirrors to maintain persistence over time.

If you illustrate a national claim with a county case study, disclose why it is representative and note any outliers to avoid cherry-picking.

Label units clearly, use CPI-adjusted dollars for price claims, and avoid truncated axes that exaggerate trends.

Recreate figures from downloaded CSVs or APIs in a script or notebook, and save a commit hash and data snapshot to the story folder.

Use EIA retail price series for residential, commercial, or industrial customers rather than averaging across classes improperly.

Do not mix EPA GHGI national totals with state inventories or lifecycle estimates without clear labels and caveats.

When visualizing damages, adjust for population and asset growth to prevent misleading trends driven by settlement patterns.

Label AEO cases or IPCC SSPs as scenarios, add confidence intervals when available, and state key assumptions in the caption.

For pieces that infer deception or harm, confer with counsel, retain underlying documents, and note basis for conclusions.

Send detailed queries to campaigns or offices with a timestamped deadline and include their response verbatim or note non-response.

Publish correction notes in-line, record CMS revisions, and link to archived prior versions for transparency.

Route doxxing threats to security, minimize PII in bylines when necessary, and use newsroom aliases for sensitive outreach.

Maintain templates and a tracking sheet for FOIA and state equivalents to obtain interconnection queues, outage logs, and permit files.

Tag stories with claim topic, subject, and geography; upload raw clips and transcripts to a stable archive and store checksums for integrity.