Search tips for journalists

Most reporting that touches X uses the same few searches over and over: who was there, who is this account, where did this claim start, and what do the official sources say. These techniques combine X's search and Google's, because each covers the other's blind spots.

Finding people who were there

Eyewitnesses post in the first person, often with a photo, and rarely with a link. Start on X, Latest tab:

("I just saw" OR "we heard" OR "outside my") (fire OR smoke) near:"Springfield" within:10mi

near: only finds the few posts that carry a location, so run a second version with the place name as a plain word instead. Then add filter:media to see only posts with photos or video, which are the ones you'll most want to verify.

Search the place in local terms. People write the neighborhood, the cross streets, the name of the bar on the corner, not the official district name. Local hashtags are worth checking, but don't assume the obvious one is the one people are using.

When you contact someone, do it in public replies or DMs as your newsroom allows, say who you are, and ask before you use their name, photo or words. Someone posting from inside an emergency may not be ready to talk to a reporter.

Checking an account

Before you quote, a few minutes of checking can save a correction:

• Look at the join date and the posting history. On X, from:handle until:2025-01-01 shows what the account posted before a given date. An account that only appeared last week and suddenly has an eyewitness photo deserves a closer look.
• Search the handle on Google with site:x.com/handle and without site: to see whether other sites, such as a newsroom staff page or an organization's contact page, link to it.
• Click the checkmark if there is one. X explains what kind it is, and a subscription checkmark says nothing about who runs the account.
• Check for handle changes. Old news articles or archived pages that show a different handle for the same account are a sign of a rebrand, or of a recycled account.

Tracing a claim to its first appearance

When a claim or screenshot is spreading, pick a distinctive phrase from it, four or five unusual words, and search it in quotes on X's Latest tab. Use until: to push the window back an hour or a day at a time until you find the earliest version. Then do the same on Google, both on the whole web and with site:x.com; sometimes a claim started on a forum or a blog and only reached X later.

If a screenshot claims to show a post from a specific account, search for it directly with from: and the phrase. If it's not there, the post may have been deleted, or it may never have existed. A missing post is a reason to keep looking, not proof either way. Web archives sometimes hold a copy.

Checking photos and video

Save the image and run a reverse image search, such as Google Lens or TinEye. Old photos come back during every storm and protest. For video, take a screenshot of a distinctive frame and search that. Look for details you can check against a map: signs, storefronts, the angle of the sun, the weather that day.

On X, searching your topic with filter:images or filter:videos and the Latest tab, then scrolling back to the earliest post, often shows where a piece of media first appeared.

Going to official sources

Agencies, courts, companies and campaigns post on X, but their own websites hold the documents. Use Google to search a site directly:

site:example.gov "boil water" after:2026-06-01

Add filetype:pdf to find reports, filings and meeting minutes. Then use X to check whether the agency posted about it and how people reacted:

from:agencyhandle "boil water"

The launcher puts both kinds of search side by side: type the words once, add the agency handle under From account, and it builds the X version with from: and the Google version with site:x.com/handle.

Watching reporters and outlets you trust

An X list of local reporters, outlets and agencies is one of the most useful things you can build for a beat. Search within it with list: and the list's number to see only what trusted sources are saying. A private list keeps your source list to yourself.

Saving evidence

Posts get deleted, edited and locked. When something might matter to a story, save it right away: the post URL, a full screenshot including the handle and timestamp, and the text. Archive the page with a web archive service if it's public. Note when and how you found it. If a post later disappears, your notes are what let you say what it said and when.

A short checklist before publishing

Can you say who posted it, when, and whether it's the original? Does the account hold up outside X? Is the image new? Did you reach the person, or say that you tried? If any answer is no, say so in the copy or keep reporting.

Questions

Is it ethical to contact people I find through X search?

Usually, yes, as long as you are clear about who you are and what you are working on, and you respect a refusal. Take extra care with people who have just been through something traumatic, and with minors.

Should I embed or screenshot posts in a story?

Follow your newsroom's policy. Embeds keep the link to the original but disappear if the post is deleted. Screenshots last but can't be checked by readers. Many newsrooms keep a screenshot on file either way.