Using Counterpedia Check
What this chapter does
Checking information is different from finding it. This chapter takes one statement, one identified source and one specified assessment from preparation to result, then shows how to read each recorded finding without exaggerating what was tested.
Reader outcome
Prepare a statement and its source context, execute an authorized Check, examine its per-question outcomes and receipt, and preserve the result’s stated limits.
The worked question: a Volkswagen notice
Use a bounded source-description question drawn from the EPA’s September 2015 notice: Did the EPA notice allege that specified Volkswagen 2.0-liter diesel vehicles used software to circumvent emissions testing? That asks what a named regulatory document says. It does not ask Check to rule on every Volkswagen model, executive’s knowledge, or every later legal disposition.
Before you begin
Have the statement and the identified EPA notice together, including any edition or retrieval details available. Sign in with an identity authorized to run the chosen Check. If Check is unavailable, continue the source-reading exercise without calling it an executed assessment.
1. Prepare an exact statement and source
Enter the statement or select it from a documented import path. Confirm that the EPA document URL or identified source record remains attached to that same statement after import. Do not silently replace the original source with a search snippet or a topical summary. If the document can’t be read, record that condition rather than supplying invented extracted text.
2. Review what Check will evaluate
Read the displayed statement, source, permission requirements and the selected assessment contract or scope. A citation-focused assessment may ask separate questions about source identity, citation resolution, quotation integrity, source capture, currentness and proposition support. Do not assume all six were evaluated: use only the actual question IDs and labels returned by the selected operation.
3. Run the operation and preserve its identity
Submit the prepared request if Check is enabled for your account and material. Retain the operation or result identity displayed, as well as the statement and source reference. Do not call a preparation screen, queued request or failed execution a completed Check.
Expected result: an identifiable result tied to the exact statement and source you submitted, or an explicit non-completion state you can diagnose.
4. Read each recorded outcome and reason
Inspect the returned questions individually. Open any linked passages and compare the precise text to the submitted proposition. A valid URL is not a quotation match; an accurate quotation does not automatically support the broader statement; an older source can still be accurately quoted without being current for every purpose.
| Observation | What it can establish | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Citation resolves | The indicated destination was reached under the stated test | Truth of the proposition |
| Quotation matches | Wording corresponds under the quotation test | Full-context support or currentness |
| Evidence supports a scoped proposition | Support under the recorded assessment and evidence | Every similar claim or unrelated vehicle model |
| Question not evaluated | No recorded assessment for that question | A negative finding |
| Unresolved outcome | Assessment did not establish a conclusive answer | Technical execution failure |
Read the actual returned vocabulary rather than treating this table as a promise of specific outcomes.
5. Inspect the receipt on its own terms
Where a receipt was issued, identify its related operation and source context. A receipt may carry signed or hashed representation data useful for subsequent inspection. Recomputing its specified content identity is different from re-executing Check, authenticating every publisher claim, or proving an external publication time. Keep the expected digest’s origin and the verification contract clear.
6. Handle refused, unresolved and failed paths
If execution was refused, read the access or policy reason and use an authorized path rather than retrying through another identity. If a question was evaluated but unresolved, inspect the evidence limit and refine the claim or source for a possible future Check. If the operation failed technically, preserve its error context and avoid reporting substantive outcomes it never produced. If it never ran, describe the material as not checked.
7. Finish with the bounded result
Write down the exact proposition, source version, recorded questions and reasons, result or receipt identity, and anything not assessed. Use Saving, citing, sharing and exporting only for an eligible result under the current access and retention rules. A basic source-reading task can be complete even if Check is unavailable.