Abstract: The method of assessing the validity of factual claims determines if a purported factual claim, such as a statement made on social media, in the news, etc., is “true”, “false” or “unknown” through comparison with corresponding ranked factual claims stored in a comparison database. The comparison database is assembled by storing a plurality of sets of digital content items, where each of the sets of digital content items has a unique topic. Factual claims within each set are ranked by the number of agreements between individual items within each set. A query item to be assessed is input, and at least one purported factual claim to be assessed is extracted. This purported factual claim is then compared against a predetermined number of highest-ranking factual claims within the corresponding set. A validity score is then generated based on the number of agreements and the number of disagreements from the comparison.

Abstract: The method of assessing the validity of factual claims determines if a purported factual claim, such as a statement made on social media, in the news, etc., is “true”, “false” or “unknown” through comparison with corresponding ranked factual claims stored in a comparison database. The comparison database is assembled by storing a plurality of sets of digital content items, where each of the sets of digital content items has a unique topic. Factual claims within each set are ranked by the number of agreements between individual items within each set. A query item to be assessed is input, and at least one purported factual claim to be assessed is extracted. This purported factual claim is then compared against a predetermined number of highest-ranking factual claims within the corresponding set. A validity score is then generated based on the number of agreements and the number of disagreements from the comparison.