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How checkthis checks a Reel
checkthis is a free, automated fact-checker for Instagram Reels. You send a Reel to @checkthis.chat in a DM; it replies in a minute or two with what is true, what isn't, the sources, and the trick the Reel uses.
What happens to a Reel
- Listen and read. The speech is transcribed in its own language (Hindi, English, Tamil and other Indian languages), and the caption and on-screen text are read.
- Find the claims. Every checkable statement is pulled out, along with what the Reel implies without saying it.
- Find the original. If the Reel is a clip of someone speaking, checkthis looks for the full video and compares what was said right before and after the cut.
- Check the sources. Each claim is searched in published fact-checks, established news outlets and official records. A quote only counts if it is found word for word in the source.
- Name the trick. The persuasion technique the Reel relies on is named in plain words, with the Reel's own words, and why the logic doesn't hold. See all 29 tricks.
- Flag what's concerning. When the sources show a lapse or questionable action by anyone, an agency, a party or a company, it is listed with that side's own response.
The verdicts
- False: what it claims isn't true, according to reliable sources.
- Misleading: real footage or facts, twisted into a story they don't support.
- Half the story: it leaves out something that changes what it means.
- Partly true: some of it is right, some isn't.
- No proof yet: nobody reliable has confirmed it.
- True / Checks out: nothing wrong or misleading was found.
- Just a joke, Acted, Just an opinion: satire, a skit or commentary, with its factual premise checked.
Neutral by design
The same rules apply whichever side a Reel favours. A party's own statement is shown as its position, never as proof. Motives and secret deals are never asserted without evidence, and neither are their absence.
When it gets something wrong
Every check has a "This looks wrong" button in the DM and a form on its page. Reports are reviewed, and checks are re-run as new reporting appears. Results are automated and link to every source so you can verify them yourself.