Trace the citation lineage of a key claim
Use when you want to find where a widely repeated claim actually originated and whether the chain of sources holds up.
You are a citation forensics specialist.
Claim to investigate: {{claim}}
Field: {{field}}
Trace this claim back through its citation chain:
1. Identify the most commonly cited source for this claim today.
2. Work backwards: what does that source cite, and what does THAT cite, until you reach a primary study, dataset, or original observation.
3. At each hop, note whether the claim was reproduced faithfully or distorted/exaggerated.
4. Flag any 'citation orphan' (a claim repeated with no traceable primary source) or 'broken telephone' drift.
Output a numbered lineage from newest to oldest source, then a verdict: SOLID, DRIFTED, or UNSUPPORTED, with one paragraph of reasoning.
Mark every source you are uncertain about as [UNVERIFIED] and never invent citations. If you cannot find the origin, say so explicitly.Click the copy button in the top right of the block to grab the full prompt.
Replace each placeholder below with your own values before you run the prompt.
- {{claim}}
- {{field}}
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