Do not verify a claim by how realistic it looks. Verify the origin, timestamp, primary source and independent confirmation.
The four recurring formats
Sports misinformation commonly appears as a fabricated quote card, a transfer or injury claim, an edited video, or an account imitating a journalist or club. Generative tools reduce the effort needed to produce all four.
The visual may be convincing while the account history and source trail are not.
The 90-second check
Open the original post, check the account handle and history, search the exact claim, locate the club, league or athlete's official channel, and compare the timestamp with known events. For video, find the earliest upload and inspect whether the audio matches the setting.
If a claim would be major news and no credible outlet has confirmed it, treat the silence as a warning.
Signals that deserve scrutiny
Look for mismatched typography, missing source links, crops that hide the broadcaster, unnatural mouth movement, repeated background details and captions that use urgency instead of evidence. None proves fabrication alone; together they justify a pause.
Screenshots of posts are not sources. Search for the actual post.
For publishers
Keep a correction path, record the source for every factual claim and label synthetic media. Do not use an AI summary as the only evidence. When speed and certainty conflict, publish later.
PRIMARY & AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES
Source notes
Sources are selected for direct relevance. Vendor sources establish what a product or partnership claims; they do not independently prove performance. We state that distinction in the analysis.