Checking a viral claim or breaking news, explained like you're 5
Paste a viral post or a breaking story and four AIs search the web separately, then the consensus sorts what is established from what is disputed, with sources; below is a real run on one settled claim.
Explain it like I'm 5
The claim says the Great Wall of China can be picked out from space using only your eyes, with no camera, binoculars, or lens. NASA pages settle that it cannot be seen this way from the Moon, and is difficult or generally not visible from low Earth orbit, the path used by the space station. Cameras, zoom lenses, and radar can show parts of it, which is different from eyesight. The sources describe how the idea spread, but do not settle its single first source.
This explains. It does not advise.
Where all four AIs agree is the solid ground. Where they disagree is exactly what to ask the original source or an expert on the topic. This page rules on no one and picks no side: it shows what the sources say, and the sources are the final word.
Seen a viral claim? Check it.
Paste the claim, or attach a screenshot of the post as a photo. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok search the web separately, and the consensus sorts what is established from what is disputed and what is not supported, with each source dated. A breaking story comes back as what is confirmed so far versus only reported. Free-trial questions run without web search, so a recent story is marked unverified there.
Check a claimFree account: 3 questions, no card.
The parts of the claim
Each part gets its own check, not one true or false for the whole claim. A breaking story works the same way, but more of it sits under disputed until the sources catch up.
Seen from the Moon
Naked eye means seeing with your eyes alone, without a camera, binoculars, or lens. The sources say a person on the Moon could not pick out the wall this way.
What the sources settle
- A NASA page says the wall is not visible from the Moon.
Disputed, unclear or not backed up
- Unclear: The sources do not fully explain how the earliest Moon version began.
- Not backed by any source: A report of a naked-eye sighting of the wall from the Moon.
Seen from low Earth orbit with the naked eye
Low Earth orbit is the path close around Earth used by the space station. The sources say the wall is difficult, generally not visible, or nearly impossible to pick out with eyes alone from there.
What the sources settle
- A NASA report says the wall generally is not visible to the unaided eye from low Earth orbit.
- A NASA page says its color and texture blend with the surrounding land.
Disputed, unclear or not backed up
- Disputed: The sources use qualified language, so they do not settle whether a rare brief glimpse could ever occur.
- Unclear: The sources do not establish how every observer would fare under every light, weather, and viewing condition.
- Not backed by any source: Routine, easy naked-eye sightings from low Earth orbit.
Seen with a camera or a zoom lens
A satellite image is a picture made by a camera or sensor on a spacecraft. Space agency pages show parts of the wall in photographs and radar images, but equipment can reveal details that unaided eyesight does not.
What the sources settle
- A NASA page shows a space station photograph of sections of the wall made with a powerful lens.
- A NASA radar page shows sections of the wall in a radar image.
Disputed, unclear or not backed up
- Unclear: The sources do not say that every ordinary orbital photograph shows the wall clearly.
- Not backed by any source: A zoomed photograph proves the wall was visible to the photographer's naked eye.
- Unclear: The sources do not settle how much camera detail, zoom, light, or weather each image required.
Where the claim came from
The sources describe the idea as older than human spaceflight and repeated in popular writing. They show several early versions, but do not identify one certain first speaker or writer.
What the sources settle
- A NASA historical record says the Moon version was repeated and grew before lunar landings.
- A historical reference lists written versions from before space travel.
Disputed, unclear or not backed up
- Unclear: The exact first printed or spoken version is not settled.
- Not backed by any source: The claim began with a space photograph.
What NASA says
- From the Moon and from Earth orbit
- NASA's caption on a photo of the Great Wall and Inner Mongolia, taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station, says the wall isn't visible from the Moon, and is difficult or impossible to see from Earth orbit without the high-powered lenses used for that photo. The page is dated April 2, 2009.
- Great Wall | NASAchecked November 3, 2026
- In a satellite instrument's image
- NASA's Photojournal describes an image from ASTER, one of the Earth-observing instruments on NASA's Terra satellite, acquired January 9, 2001 over a 12 by 12 kilometer area of northern Shanxi Province, China. In that image, it says, the low sun angle and light snow cover highlight a section of the Great Wall, visible as a black line running diagonally through the image. The image was added to the Photojournal on July 21, 2001.
- Great Wall of China (PIA02669) | NASA Sciencechecked November 3, 2026
How to check a viral claim or breaking news yourself, step by step
- Find where the claim first appeared and who posted it.
- Read what it actually claims, including place, tools, conditions, and limits.
- Look for the original, official, or primary source, meaning a first-hand record such as an agency page.
- Check the date of every source, since a breaking story can change.
- See whether independent sources, not copies, report the same thing.
- Sort what is established, disputed, unsupported, and still unknown.
Common mistakes
- A screenshot with no source hides who made it, when, and what evidence supports it.
- Treating the first breaking-news report as final can ignore later corrections and new evidence.
- Many accounts repeating a claim may all copy one unverified source.
- Reading only a headline can hide limits, conditions, or uncertainty in the full report.
- No evidence found does not mean a claim has been proven false; the sources may simply not cover it.
Questions to ask before you share it
Ask the original source or an expert on the topic.
- For the original source: What did you directly observe, and what first-hand record supports it?
- For the original source: Was a camera, lens, sensor, or editing used?
- For a space expert: Does this describe unaided eyesight or an image made with equipment?
- For a space expert: Which viewing conditions could change whether a person notices the wall?
- For a historian: What is the earliest documented version, and how is its date known?
- For the original source: What exact place, date, and wording belong to the claim?
Check it yourself:
How sure is this guide?
Where the four AIs disagreed
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok each researched checking whether the Great Wall of China can be seen from space on their own, with web search. The score is how closely their answers matched. Where they split, ask the original source or an expert on the topic before you trust either side.
82/ 100Strong agreement
Naked-eye visibility from low Earth orbit
- GPT-5.6 Terra: Generally not visible; sources do not establish the same experience in all conditions.
- Claude Sonnet 5.5: Very hard to see, but rare glimpses may be possible and accounts differ.
- Gemini 3.8 Flash: Generally unrecognizable; suggests snow or ideal light might allow a glimpse.
- Grok 4.5: Difficult or impossible; fleeting glimpses under rare conditions remain uncertain.
Sources
The AIs searched the web and used these. AI can get details wrong, so the dated numbers above are copied by hand from the official source beside each, and the original source and the people who know the topic are the final word.