Fact-Checked AI Content Workflow: A Step-by-Step Editorial SOP That Meets Google’s ‘People-First’ Guidance

Working definition of “fact-checked”: material claims are verified against appropriate sources and the evidence is recorded (URL, excerpt, access date, decision).

Foundation: Define “material claims” + risk tiers

A material claim is anything a reasonable reader could act on, repeat, or use to decide. Log and verify:

• Facts, numbers, dates, and “as of” statements
• Comparisons/superlatives (best/only/fastest/guaranteed)
• Quotes, attributions, “according to” references
• Safety, pricing, eligibility, policy, compliance statements

Risk tiers (tier up if unsure):

• Low: general statements; minimal harm if wrong.
• Medium: specific product details, comparisons, pricing ranges, process steps.
• High: YMYL (health/finance/legal), safety guidance, regulated/medical claims, warranties/guarantees, or anything that could cause harm.

Evidence rules: high-risk needs primary sources (regulators, laws, manufacturer docs, official datasets) and/or SME review; if you can’t support it, remove or escalate. Medium can use reputable secondary sources; corroborate if contentious. Low gets quick verification or a rewrite to a broader, supportable truth.

Avoid false precision: don’t keep exact numbers/dates you can’t verify (e.g., “in early May 2024” vs. “May 3, 2024”).

The step-by-step fact-check workflow (with gates + artifacts)

Run this on every AI-assisted draft. A spreadsheet or doc table is enough.

1) Intake: freeze the draft (save a version), capture prompt/context, open the claim log.

2) Extract claims: go section by section; log each material claim with location and risk tier, and assign an owner.

3) Verify sources: find evidence that directly supports the claim; prefer official/current sources. Record URL + excerpt + access date.

4) Fix or delete: keep only what the evidence supports. Rewrite unsupported specifics, drop false precision, and delete or escalate anything high-risk you can’t verify.

5) Quote/citation hygiene: confirm quotes exist, replace broken/irrelevant citations, and ban AI-invented references and fabricated attributions.

6) Final gate: set status (Approved / Needs SME / Needs legal-compliance / Rejected) and record sign-off.

Example: claim log row

Claim (verbatim)	Location	Risk	Evidence URL	Evidence excerpt	Decision	Owner	Accessed
“Product X includes a 2-year warranty.”	Pricing section, ¶2	Medium	https://manufacturer.example/warranty	“Product X warranty term: 24 months…”	Verified	Editor	2026-10-05

People-first & anti-deception controls (final gate)

Accuracy isn’t enough if presentation is misleading. Add a final integrity check before publish.

Byline/author profile verification:

• Author is a real person (or clearly labeled editorial team).
• Claimed credentials/experience are accurate and consistent across the site.
• No invented affiliations (schools, employers, boards).

Disclosure policy (consistent and non-misleading): disclose AI assistance when it materially shaped drafting or research in a way readers would care about. Keep wording plain (e.g., “AI-assisted draft; reviewed and fact-checked by [name/role]”). Don’t imply hands-on testing you didn’t do.

Anti-deception rules:

• No fabricated expertise (“as a doctor…”) without credentials.
• No fake testimonials/case results.
• No “we tested/used/measured” unless you actually did.

Example rewrite (remove manufactured experience):

• Deceptive: “We tested five tools and Tool A was fastest.”
• Truthful: “Based on vendor documentation and independent reviews, Tool A is often reported as fast; results vary by setup.”

Accountability: Roles, sign-offs, and audit trail (lean RACI)

Keep this lightweight but enforceable.

• Writer: drafts, flags claims, fills first-pass claim log.
• Editor (owner): assigns risk tiers, enforces rewrites/deletions, sets publish status.
• Fact-checker (if separate): verifies evidence, records excerpts, challenges weak sources.
• SME: required for high-risk/YMYL, safety guidance, policy interpretation, or disputed claims.
• Legal/compliance: required for regulated claims, warranties/guarantees, medical/legal advice risk, or liability exposure.

Retain: claim log, evidence notes, version history, approvals/sign-offs. Keep them with the article until the next major update (or 12+ months, whichever comes first). Store in a shared folder (e.g., article-slug_fact-check_YYYY-MM-DD).

Conclusion: What “done” looks like + start using it today

Publish-ready means: every material claim is logged, high-risk claims are supported by the right level of evidence (or removed/escalated), quotes and attributions are verified, and approvals are recorded with a clear final status.

If you adopt one habit, make it the claim log: claim → evidence → decision → owner → date. Run this SOP on the next AI-assisted draft or refresh, then reuse the same artifacts on every update so accuracy work stays consistent and defensible.

Sources

1. Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content