CTL · AI Literacy
Millions
of people use AI to find facts every day.
Most never check if those facts are real.

It Sounds
True.

AI doesn't know what's accurate. It knows what sounds accurate. That's not the same thing — and the difference matters more than most people realize.

Your scenario: You're preparing for a class debate on social media and teen mental health. You ask AI for some quick background facts. Seems reasonable — lots of people do exactly this.

You're about to see what it gives you. One statement in the response is completely fabricated. Your job is to find it.
Step 1 of 3 — Read

You asked.
It answered.

Read this the way you normally would. Don't look for problems yet.

AI Assistant
AI
Step 2 of 3 — Investigate

One statement
is fabricated.

👆
Tap the sentence you think is wrong. One guess. Trust your instinct.
AI Assistant
AI

You have one guess — make it count

Step 3 of 3 — The Reveal
🤔

Not that one —
and that's the point.

That sentence felt off — but the fabricated one slipped right past you. That's not a failure. That's exactly what AI is designed to do.

This is the fabricated statement
Why you missed it
The one thing to remember
Step 3 of 3 — The Reveal
⚡

You found it.
Now understand it.

Good instinct. But here's the more important question: why did the AI produce this — and how do you catch it when it's harder to spot?

The fabricated statement
Why AI does this
The one thing to remember
✓ Great job!

You've seen all three examples.

Each one used a different method. Here's what to carry with you:

Numbers can be real but wrong. AI often takes a real statistic from a real source and inflates, inverts, or misattributes it. The journal name checks out. The number doesn't.
Methodology makes hallucinations harder to question. When a claim includes a sample size, a comparison group, or a specific year, it feels like something you could look up — even when it was never measured.
AI fabricates more than studies. It also invents quotes, internal memos, and documents that fit a real archive. If you can't read the original source, you can't confirm the detail.