Every story on the map carries one of three statuses. Each is an editorial judgment made against the written standard below, and every story shows the evidence, the date and the editors behind it.
The three statuses
False
The story is untrue, or isn't what it claims to be.
It meets at least one of these:
- Its central claim is contradicted by primary evidence: official records, original footage, or the people and institutions it quotes.
- It presents invented or AI-generated material as real: fabricated quotes or documents, synthetic video, cloned voices.
- It is published under a false identity: a cloned or invented outlet, or a front for an operator who isn't disclosed.
Bar to publish: two independent credible sources, or one primary source plus a documented check, and a second editor's sign-off.
Unverified
We can't confirm it, and it shows warning signs.
No independent source corroborates it, and it shows at least one of these:
- The site is less than 90 days old, or hides who owns it.
- No masthead, named staff or way to contact the publisher.
- Text, images or voices show signs of AI generation.
- It was first spread by accounts or sites already linked to stories in this index.
- Details don't match the time, place or people involved.
A caution, not a verdict. We re-check unverified stories every 30 days and move them to False or Trustworthy when the evidence settles.
Trustworthy
Reported to us, checked, and it holds up.
It meets all of these:
- Corroborated by at least two independent credible sources, or by the primary source itself.
- Published by an outlet with a named masthead and a corrections policy.
- The original images, video or documents were found and show no sign of alteration.
This story only. Trustworthy describes one story, not the outlet that published it.
From report to status
- 01Report receivedGrouped with other reports of the same link. Nothing is public yet.
- 02ArchivedAn editor saves a copy, so the evidence survives if the page is deleted.
- 03Evidence checkThe editor works through the standard above and records each source.
- 04Second sign-offA False status needs a second editor to agree before it goes live.
- 05PublishedStatus, evidence links, date and editor initials appear on the story.
- 06Open to challengeAnyone, including the outlet, can contest a status. Every change is logged on the story.
Two separate judgments
A story's status says whether it holds up. Its origin says who we believe is behind it. We judge them separately, so a story can be clearly false while its origin is still uncertain.
Pins on the map mark the attributed origin, never where a website happens to be hosted.
Origin confidence
HighSeveral independent sources agree on the actor: researchers, platform takedown reports or government attribution.
ModerateOne credible attribution, or strong technical links to a known operation.
LowClearly inauthentic, but who runs it is uncertain. Shown as "suspected".
What we don't do
We don't rely on AI-detection software alone. It is unreliable, so it is only ever one signal among several.
We don't mark stories false for being one-sided. Opinion and slant aren't falsehoods.
We don't rate outlets' politics or overall reliability. We judge individual stories and the fronts behind them.
Challenges and corrections
If you think a status is wrong, including about a story you published, write to with the story's link and your evidence. An editor who did not make the original call reviews every challenge. We reply within 7 days, and any change appears in the story's public history.
About the False Press Index
The False Press Index (FPIndex) is an independent, open-source tracker of AI-generated, fabricated and propaganda news. It maps each story from its attributed origin to the audience it targets, so readers, reporters and researchers can see where coordinated falsehoods come from and how they move.
Anyone can report a story. Only editors publish, and only against the standard on this page.