Quality and evidence, control 6 of 15
Q-06 Match evidence to the precise claim
A reputable page or working link is not enough: the source must support the specific claim, population, period and version being asserted.
- Priority
- Gate. A FAIL stops publish or launch.
- Hard gate
- Yes. A FAIL stops publication, whatever the score.
- Change class
- EVIDENCE_REQUIRED: Authoritative facts must be supplied.
- Quality bucket
- Accuracy and evidence chain
Why it matters
A citation that does not actually back the claim next to it gives readers false comfort and sends them down dead ends. Google's guidance on helpful content and AI features favours content that is trustworthy and well sourced, and AI answer engines are more likely to repeat a claim correctly when its evidence is clear. Preferring primary sources avoids the errors that creep in through second-hand summaries.
Evidence to review
- Claim-level support note, resolved source identity and explicit uncertainty.
How to implement
- Prefer original sources over summaries when obtainable.
- Open referenced evidence and record what it supports.
- Distinguish a source-reported claim from independently verified truth.
- Audit citations for topic-changing redirects and outdated versions.
How UltimateSEO checks this
Needs your evidence. No automated check covers this control, so it stays UNKNOWN until evidence is supplied.
Evidence needed: the claim-to-source map showing each critical claim, its source and whether the source is primary.
States used: PASS, FAIL, UNKNOWN, NOT_APPLICABLE or BLOCKED. UNKNOWN is never shown as a pass. How states work.
Sources
Part of The UltimateSEO Framework v4.3, catalogue dated 2026-10-14. Evidence states, control states and the publish gate are explained on the hub.