Scam News App: How to Check a Claim or Screenshot
About this check
Saw a claim, image, or screenshot and want to know whether it is real? The check to make is simple: identify the exact statement being presented as news, trace it to usable evidence, and separate what the evidence supports from what it does not. A finished answer should give you a clear verdict, the confidence behind it, and the sources used to reach it—not just another repetition of the post.
You can do that manually, or use VOM to check the claim or image.
The manual method
Start with the original material. Save the screenshot or image, copy the wording of the claim, and note where you saw it. Do not rely on a shortened caption if the post contains more context. If the image includes text, transcribe the important words exactly, including names, dates, places, and numbers.
Next, reduce the post to one checkable statement. “This is shocking” is not a claim you can verify. “A named person made this announcement on a stated date” is. If a screenshot contains several statements, check them separately rather than treating the whole image as one conclusion.
Search the exact wording and the key details. Look for the original source, a dated report, or a direct statement that addresses the same claim. Compare what those sources actually say with what the post says. Pay attention to changes in wording: a report that something might happen is not the same as a report that it did happen.
Then check the image or screenshot as an object. Ask whether it has a source, date, account name, or surrounding context. Search distinctive text from the image and compare the result with the version you received. If the image is presented as proof of a current event, check whether the stated date and location match the claim being made now.
Finally, record the result in plain language. Mark the claim as supported when the available evidence matches it, unsupported when the evidence contradicts it, or unresolved when the material you found cannot settle the question. Keep the links and the exact wording that led to your conclusion.
Where manual checking stops working
Manual research can stop short of an answer when the original source is unavailable, the post has been copied without context, or the available reports repeat one another without adding evidence. A screenshot can also leave out the surrounding conversation or make it difficult to determine when and where the underlying material came from. An image may be presented as evidence for a claim that its contents do not actually establish.
Conflicting sources create another boundary. Finding two different statements does not, by itself, tell you which one is correct. If the available evidence cannot settle the claim, the responsible result is unresolved—not a forced yes or no. That is the point at which a manual check should stop rather than turn a guess into a conclusion.
Using VOM to check the same material
VOM’s verification app is available at vom-app.com/app. It installs on a phone or desktop as an app, and verification requires an internet connection.
For a checked claim, VOM returns a verdict, a confidence score, and the sources it used. Its verdict can be true, false, or inconclusive. When the evidence cannot settle a claim, VOM reports it as inconclusive instead of forcing it into a yes or no. VOM uses real-time web search and cites the sources behind each verdict, so you can inspect the material supporting the answer.
For an uploaded image, VOM assesses whether it is likely authentic, likely AI-generated, or unverifiable. It can also read the text inside a screenshot, allowing a forwarded image to be checked without retyping it. That makes the same process—separating the claim from the material supporting it—available for both written posts and image-based claims.
The result is still an answer to inspect, not a reason to skip the evidence. The useful output is the combination of the verdict, its confidence score, and the cited sources. If the result is inconclusive, that uncertainty is part of the answer.