Professional fact-checkers rely heavily on Wikipedia, and usually the best first pass at getting a read on a site is to read the Wikipedia article on it. But what’s the fastest way to get the relevant article?

As an example, consider the organization Nuclear Matters which describes itself this way:

Nuclear Matters is a national coalition with a diverse roster of allies and members. Our Advocacy Council is made up of leaders from various areas, including labor organizations, environmental supporters, young professionals and women in the nuclear industry, venture capitalists, innovators in advanced nuclear technology and former policymakers and regulators.

This site is not quite claiming to be grass roots, but we notice the one word not here is “industry-funded”. And we’re curious — you have some varied members, but where does the money come from?

As mentioned, the best first stop on this is Wikipedia. But time is precious, so what's the quickest way to get there?

This video shows you a simple technique to see what Wikipedia has to say about a source.

Just Add Wikipedia (Source Verification Omnibar Hack)

Wikipedia isn't always the last stop -- obviously, Wikipedia can get things wrong. But as professionals have discovered, it's a good first step. Even if it doesn't fully resolve issues about your source, it usually raises the relevant questions and provides you links with a more complete story. 

Use the "Just add Wikipedia" trick wherever you want more information about the site or organization you are looking at. Make sure you click through to the Wikipedia page and read the full context, and if suspicous, click through to the supporting links to read even more. But start there when investigating a source.