Before publishing an AI-written petition, verify every material factual claim against evidence that supports its exact wording. Open the cited sources, check quotations and legal references against originals, correct claims that need narrowing, and remove anything you cannot substantiate. A confident tone or plausible-looking AI citation is not proof.
1. Turn the petition into a claim-by-claim checklist
Read the draft sentence by sentence and mark statements that could be checked. Split compound sentences: one sentence may contain several claims, and evidence for one does not automatically support the others. British Columbia government guidance specifically identifies names, places, organizations, dates, numbers, statistics, laws, policies, procedures, quotations, and citations as details to verify.
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- People, organizations, roles, and places
- Dates, quantities, statistics, and descriptions of events
- Claims that one event or policy caused another
- Direct quotations and paraphrases attributed to a source
- Allegations about identifiable people or organizations
- Claims about current laws, policies, rights, or procedures
Start with claims that could materially mislead readers or harm someone if wrong: allegations, numbers, quotations, legal or procedural statements, and claims about current events or policies. This is a practical editorial priority, not a formal risk scale.
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2. Open each citation and match it to the claim
Do not rely on a citation merely because it looks plausible. Open the source and check that it exists, is relevant, and actually contains evidence for the statement. The Province of British Columbia advises: “Always check that sources are real, relevant and reliable.” The House of Commons Library similarly says to treat every AI-produced factual statement as unverified until it has been checked.
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- Locate the cited material. Confirm the page, report, case, dataset, or document is real and accessible.
- Read the supporting passage. Check whether it establishes the claim as written, rather than merely discussing the same subject.
- Check the attribution. Make sure the source says what the petition says it says; do not accept AI-generated titles, quotations, or links without opening them.
- Record what the evidence supports. If the source supports a narrower or qualified statement, revise the petition to match.
Prefer evidence closest to the underlying fact: original documents, official government or organization pages, primary datasets, legislation, recognized regulators, and peer-reviewed research where appropriate. Secondary reporting can provide context, but several pages repeating the same claim do not necessarily provide independent confirmation.
3. Check dates, scope, and context
A real source can still be misused. Verify when it was published or updated, whether the information is current, and whether its jurisdiction, population, timeframe, or definitions match the petition’s claim. Read enough surrounding material to preserve caveats. For example, a statistic tied to a particular group or period should not be presented as if it describes everyone or remains current indefinitely.
If sources disagree, compare their dates, jurisdictions, definitions, methods, and closeness to the original evidence. Prefer the source nearest to the fact being asserted. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, explain it rather than silently selecting the account that best supports the petition.
4. Verify quotations, allegations, and legal claims with extra care
Quotations
Check exact wording against the original recording, transcript, or document. Confirm who said it and whether the surrounding context changes its meaning. A paraphrase should not be placed in quotation marks or presented as a verbatim statement.
Allegations
Confirm the evidence supports the precise allegation and identify it fairly as an allegation when it has not been established as fact. Consider whether the wording unfairly implies certainty beyond what the evidence shows.
Law and procedure
Check that each cited law, case, rule, or procedure exists, is current, applies in the relevant jurisdiction, and supports the proposition being made. Court guidance warns that legal AI can produce plausible but false citations, distorted quotations, and incorrect procedure. The National Center for State Courts advises checking citations directly in primary sources and independently verifying case names, holdings, and references. For a claim requiring legal interpretation, seek review from a qualified legal professional in the relevant jurisdiction.
5. Review the petition as a whole
Claim-by-claim checks can miss inconsistencies between sections. Read the entire petition after verifying its sources and look for contradictions, shifting figures, inconsistent descriptions of the same event, or evidence omitted in a way that changes the impression. British Columbia guidance also recommends checking an output for contradictions. Ask whether the draft fairly represents evidence that cuts against its argument, not just evidence that supports it.
6. Make an explicit decision about every claim
For each marked statement, keep the wording only if the evidence supports it in context. Otherwise, choose a clear editorial outcome:
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- Correct it when reliable evidence establishes a different fact.
- Narrow it when the evidence supports only a more limited statement.
- Attribute it as an opinion or allegation when that accurately describes its status.
- Remove it when it cannot be substantiated or adds more risk than value.
- State the uncertainty when the evidence remains unresolved and the claim is important to readers.
Then have a responsible human editor review the final petition and its public-facing headline, summary, and metadata. Google Search Central says AI output may contain inaccuracies and calls for manual fact-checking and review before publication; its guidance also includes search-facing metadata in that review.
7. Do not use AI detectors as fact-checkers
An AI detector cannot tell you whether a petition’s claims are true. The House of Commons Library cautions that detection tools are unreliable and should not be treated as conclusive. Verify the claims and evidence themselves, and use a subject-matter expert when a statement depends on specialized or contested knowledge.
8. Check disclosure rules for the publication channel
There is no single disclosure rule that applies to every petition in every place. Check the current law and the terms of the platform where the petition will appear. The European Commission describes AI Act Article 50 transparency obligations applicable from 2 August 2026, including requirements for certain AI-generated or manipulated text published to inform the public on matters of public interest, with an exception described where the material has undergone human review and is subject to editorial responsibility. This is EU-specific, not a universal rule.
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A petition filed with a court is different from a public campaign petition. The Federal Court of Australia practice note sets expectations for people who appear before or file documents with that Court, including verification responsibilities and disclosures in specified evidentiary circumstances. Those rules should not be generalized to other courts or ordinary online petitions; check the relevant court’s current rules and guidance for a filing.
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