COVID-19 Claims Checklist for Political Journalism

Rewrite the soundbite into a specific, falsifiable statement with a time frame, jurisdiction, and metric so your sourcing work has a clear target.

Build a quick timeline of orders, guidance, and press statements to see if the claim aligns with when decisions were made and implemented.

Flag claims that could change voting behavior or health actions and set a higher evidentiary bar for those segments and headlines.

Decide whether you need official documents, independent datasets, or expert consensus before using definitive language in top lines.

Email campaigns or offices with your exact claim text, requested evidence, and time-stamped deadline to document fairness without stalling publication.

List the root records you must obtain first, such as federal guidance, EUAs, state orders, and mortality tables, then add corroborating sources beneath.

Use White House archives, National Archives, and press pool reports to confirm the wording, date, and location of the original statement.

Download CDC guidance PDFs and web captures with publication and revision dates so you can show when language changed.

Obtain the EUA letter, fact sheets, and reviewer memos to verify indications, trial endpoints, and risk language cited in the claim.

Get executive orders, health department bulletins, and daily dashboards for the relevant state or county, including PDF exports where available.

Create archive snapshots and store SHA-256 hashes or checksums for downloaded PDFs so you can prove the state of the record at time of publication.

Search USAspending.gov and SAM.gov for contracts and awards tied to tests, vaccines, or PPE to verify delivery timelines and quantities.

Ensure the claim references the correct metric, such as cases per 100k, deaths, test positivity, or hospitalizations, and verify the denominator used.

Compare reported COVID-19 deaths to excess mortality from NCHS to test assertions about inflated or deflated death tallies.

Match claim dates with data that share the same reporting lag, weekend effect, and backfill so you are not comparing misaligned periods.

When covering vaccines, specify whether the figure is from clinical trials, real-world studies, or protection against hospitalization or death.

Explain that passive surveillance reports signal potential issues but do not establish causation, and seek adjudicated safety summaries for conclusions.

Spot-check federal numbers against state dashboards and reputable aggregators to detect anomalies or restatements before airtime.

Check ClinicalTrials.gov and peer-reviewed papers to confirm whether outcomes are clinical, virologic, or surrogate endpoints and whether the study is powered.

If a claim cites a preprint, search for the published version or editorial correspondence to see if conclusions changed post review.

Check NIH or IDSA COVID-19 treatment guidelines and note the recommendation strength and evidence grade to frame claims accurately.

Use state pharmacy boards, wholesale distribution data, or facility protocols to see whether the drug was actually used as claimed.

Translate study results into absolute risk reductions and numbers needed to treat to avoid overstating marginal effects in scripts and graphics.

For prime-time or front-page coverage, run the analysis and confidence intervals past a neutral methodologist and attribute the limitations on air.

Use verbs like "claims without evidence" or "contradicted by records" when the proof fails to meet your standard, and avoid repeating the falsehood unqualified.

If one side lacks evidence or relies on misinterpreted data, do not frame it as a legitimate dispute; explain the weight of the evidence clearly.

Include whether the subject replied, what evidence they provided, and link to documents or say explicitly that none were supplied.

Have counsel review drafts that critique specific companies, drugs, or officials, and ensure your claims rest on verifiable facts and fair comment.

Add a sidebar detailing datasets, date ranges, and expert consultations so readers and producers can audit your process.

Define how you will update copy, chyrons, and social posts if agencies revise data, including time stamps and editor sign-off.

Include concise tags like "Not supported by FDA records" or "Contradicted by state data" to communicate status without repeating the falsehood.

Prepare a one-pager listing primary documents, the exact claim sentence, and what you do not know to prevent drift during cross-talk.

Check that charts use consistent scales, labeled baselines, and aligned date ranges so visuals do not mislead under time pressure.

Use templates that label content as claim-check, cite the source entity, and link directly to the primary document or dataset.

If a guest makes a false claim, have a pre-approved line for on-air correction and a rapid process to update chyrons within the segment.

Ensure captions, alt text, and on-screen language avoid jargon and use plain numbers to widen trust and reach.