Analysis module
Source checkDoes the text reproduce what the source says and means?
The source check holds the statements of a text against the documents it refers to. It shows whether a quote is accurate and whether the conclusion drawn from it is covered by the text. Every finding names the passage, so you can read it yourself.
How the check works, with which criteria and evidence, is set out on the method page of the check profile that applies to a source: check profile Legal text, check profile General
What is checked
- whether a statement reproduces the source word for word, in substance or with a condition left out, or contradicts its wording
- whether an interpretation or application is covered by the text, measured against the criteria of the check profile
What the source check is not
- It is not a fact check. The only yardstick is the source; whether a statement about the world holds is not examined.
- It gives no legal advice on individual cases. Statements about what a particular person must do are listed but not checked.
- It makes no assessment of constitutionality. It checks whether a text reproduces the Basic Law correctly, not whether a law is compatible with it.
Check profiles
Which check profile applies is detected per source and can be changed.
For federal laws, draft laws, regulations and the constitution.
The check profile has not yet been accepted against reference cases reviewed by a lawyer. Until then its findings carry this notice.
Method, version and changes of the check profileFor any other document with fixed wording: studies, statistics, reports, press releases, programmes.
The check profile has not yet been accepted against reference cases reviewed by a subject expert. Until then its findings carry this notice.
Method, version and changes of the check profileExample
Example: text and findings for illustration
A made-up newspaper article about allotment gardens, held against the Federal Allotment Garden Act (Bundeskleingartengesetz). The text and the findings were written by hand to show how a source check works; no check produced them. The law is the text published on gesetze-im-internet.de, and every passage cited stands in it word for word. The example is in German, like the texts the source check compares.
1. Input
You paste the text or load it from an address, and give the addresses of the sources, here the Federal Allotment Garden Act. In the example both are fixed: the text is a made-up newspaper article. For the example the law is cut to §§ 1 to 8.
2. Preparation
The text is split into statements, each with its kind. The source is fetched, divided into sections and matched against the quotes in the text. In the source list § 2 is deselected, as for the result below, so the statement that needs it is shown as “not checked”. Deselect or select sections there: the statements that need them change with them, before anything runs. The version stays open here: three quotes stand word for word in the law, one („zu einem Drittel mit Obst und Gemüse bepflanzt“) in none of the given sources. Whether the text quotes inexactly or means another version, the check does not decide.
Nothing runs in the example. The result is shown below.
Text
11 statements found and underlined. The text is fixed for this check.
Statements in the text
Before the check: which statements are held against which sections. If you deselect a section a statement needs, that statement stays unchecked.
- EvaluationAutor
Für viele Familien in der Stadt ist der Kleingarten ein Stück Lebensqualität.
listed without a finding
- About the sourceAutor
Nach § 3 Abs. 2 ist „eine Laube in einfacher Ausführung mit höchstens 24 Quadratmetern Grundfläche einschließlich überdachtem Freisitz zulässig“.
Against: § 3 Abs. 2
- InterpretationAutor
Eine Laube mit Strom- und Wasseranschluss ist nach dieser Vorschrift nicht erlaubt.
Against: § 3 Abs. 2
- About the sourceAutor
Nach § 1 muss ein Kleingarten außerdem „zu einem Drittel mit Obst und Gemüse bepflanzt“ sein.
Against: § 1
- About the sourceAutor
Bei der Pacht setzt § 5 eine Obergrenze: höchstens das Vierfache der ortsüblichen Pacht im erwerbsmäßigen Obst- und Gemüseanbau, gerechnet auf die ganze Anlage.
Against: § 5
- ApplicationVorsitzende
Die Vorsitzende des Vereins erklärt, die Pacht könne deshalb jedes Jahr an diese Obergrenze angepasst werden.
Against: § 5
- ApplicationAutor
Pachtverträge über Dauerkleingärten laufen nach § 6 ohnehin unbefristet, auch ein Vertrag über fünf Jahre gilt als auf unbestimmte Zeit geschlossen.
Against: § 6
- About the sourceAutor
Nach § 8 darf der Verpächter ohne Kündigungsfrist kündigen, wenn „der Pächter mit der Entrichtung der Pacht für mindestens ein Vierteljahr in Verzug ist“.
Against: § 8
- Individual caseVorsitzende
Für den Pächter der Parzelle 12, der seit dem Frühjahr nicht gezahlt hat, heißt das nach Worten der Vorsitzenden: Er muss den Garten bis zum Jahresende räumen.
listed without a finding
- About the sourceVorsitzende
Die Kündigung könne nach § 7 auch mündlich erklärt werden, sagt sie.
Against: § 7
- About the sourcenot checkedAutor
Als gemeinnützig anerkannt wird ein Verein nach § 2 nur, wenn er „im Vereinsregister eingetragen ist“.
Deselected: § 2
3. Result
Every checkable statement is held against the selected sections and gets a finding with the passage it rests on, where there is one. In this example § 2 was deselected, so one statement stays unchecked. The result comes in three views: workspace, table by section, and the comparison, which can be printed.
What the findings mean
- Reproduction
- How the text reproduces the source: word for word (the quote stands like that in the source); in substance (in other words, without changing the meaning); shortened (reproduced correctly, but a condition of the source is missing); contradicts the wording (the text states the opposite of what the source says); not found in the source text (the quoted wording is in none of the selected sections).
- Reading
- Whether a conclusion is supported by the text: covered, not covered, or open, defensible, when the text allows more than one reading; each reading is then shown with its support, and the check does not decide between them. “by Wording” names the criterion; the check profile Legal text uses wording, context, legislative history and purpose.
- Verifiability
- Can be read directly (one passage is enough); traceable along the check path (several passages, to be read in order); expert assessment (depends on legal method).
- Check path
- The passages a finding rests on. Before display, each is checked to stand word for word in the section named.
- Prüfraster: what the document sets for itself
- Only under the check profile General: what a source sets for itself, such as definitions, units, scope, conditions, limits, status and positions it only reports. Every point has a passage quoted word for word; without one it is discarded and counted.
- without a finding
- Evaluations (judgements, statements about the world) and individual cases (what follows for a particular person) are listed, not checked; the one would be a fact check, the other legal advice on an individual case.
- not checked
- The statement needs a section that was not selected. A finding rests only on selected sections.
- Comparison
- The result as a document to read and print, each statement with a margin number beside its passages and its finding.
Example for illustration: the text is made up, and the findings were written by hand. A real result is produced automatically by the system.
Only what the selected sources say is checked. The result is not legal advice and not a legal assessment of an individual case.
Checked on 26/09/2026. 8 checked, 1 not checked, 2 without a finding
The explanations of the findings are in German, like the texts they compare.
Findings by section
Each group is a section of a source that a finding rests on or that a statement would have needed, in the order of the document. Below it are the statements concerning it.
| Statement in the text | Finding | Wording of the source |
|---|---|---|
| § 2Operative textBundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 | ||
About the sourceAutor „Als gemeinnützig anerkannt wird ein Verein nach § 2 nur, wenn er „im Vereinsregister eingetragen ist“.“ | not checked Not checked, because deselected: § 2 | This section was not selected. |
| § 3 Abs. 2Operative textBundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 | ||
About the sourceAutor „Nach § 3 Abs. 2 ist „eine Laube in einfacher Ausführung mit höchstens 24 Quadratmetern Grundfläche einschließlich überdachtem Freisitz zulässig“.“ | word for word
Das Zitat steht Wort für Wort in § 3 Abs. 2 Satz 1. |
|
InterpretationAutor „Eine Laube mit Strom- und Wasseranschluss ist nach dieser Vorschrift nicht erlaubt.“ | open, defensible
Strom- und Wasseranschlüsse nennt § 3 Abs. 2 nicht; ob sie eine Laube unzulässig machen, hängt davon ab, wie man „einfacher Ausführung“ und die Eignung zum dauernden Wohnen liest. |
|
| § 5 Abs. 1Operative textBundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 | ||
About the sourceAutor „Bei der Pacht setzt § 5 eine Obergrenze: höchstens das Vierfache der ortsüblichen Pacht im erwerbsmäßigen Obst- und Gemüseanbau, gerechnet auf die ganze Anlage.“ | in substance
Der Prüftext gibt die Obergrenze aus § 5 Abs. 1 Satz 1 mit eigenen Worten wieder, ohne ihren Sinn zu ändern. |
|
| § 5 Abs. 3Operative textBundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 | ||
ApplicationVorsitzende „Die Vorsitzende des Vereins erklärt, die Pacht könne deshalb jedes Jahr an diese Obergrenze angepasst werden.“ | not covered
Nach § 5 Abs. 3 Satz 3 kann eine Anpassung der Pacht frühestens drei Jahre nach Vertragsschluss oder nach der vorhergehenden Anpassung verlangt werden, nicht jedes Jahr. |
|
| § 6Operative textBundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 | ||
ApplicationAutor „Pachtverträge über Dauerkleingärten laufen nach § 6 ohnehin unbefristet, auch ein Vertrag über fünf Jahre gilt als auf unbestimmte Zeit geschlossen.“ | covered
§ 6 lässt für Dauerkleingärten nur Verträge auf unbestimmte Zeit zu und behandelt befristete Verträge als unbefristet; das trägt die Aussage. |
|
| § 7Operative textBundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 | ||
About the sourceVorsitzende „Die Kündigung könne nach § 7 auch mündlich erklärt werden, sagt sie.“ | contradicts the wording
§ 7 verlangt für die Kündigung die schriftliche Form; eine mündliche Kündigung sieht der Text nicht vor. |
|
| § 8Operative textBundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 | ||
About the sourceAutor „Nach § 8 darf der Verpächter ohne Kündigungsfrist kündigen, wenn „der Pächter mit der Entrichtung der Pacht für mindestens ein Vierteljahr in Verzug ist“.“ | shortened
Das Zitat steht in § 8 Satz 1 Nr. 1, dort gehört aber eine zweite Bedingung dazu, die der Prüftext weglässt: Der Pächter hat die Forderung nicht innerhalb von zwei Monaten nach einer Mahnung in Textform erfüllt. |
|
| Without a sectionStatements whose finding rests on no section: listed without a finding, not found in the source text, or not checked. | ||
EvaluationAutor „Für viele Familien in der Stadt ist der Kleingarten ein Stück Lebensqualität.“ | without a finding listed without a finding | |
About the sourceAutor „Nach § 1 muss ein Kleingarten außerdem „zu einem Drittel mit Obst und Gemüse bepflanzt“ sein.“ | not found in the source text
Der zitierte Wortlaut steht in keinem ausgewählten Abschnitt der Referenzquellen. | No passage: the quoted wording is in none of the selected sections. You can search the sources yourself to confirm. Searched in: Bundeskleingartengesetz (BKleingG), §§ 1 bis 8 (Stand: Zuletzt geändert durch Art. 11 G v. 19.9.2006 I 2146, Ausfertigungsdatum 28.02.1983) |
Individual caseVorsitzende „Für den Pächter der Parzelle 12, der seit dem Frühjahr nicht gezahlt hat, heißt das nach Worten der Vorsitzenden: Er muss den Garten bis zum Jahresende räumen.“ | without a finding listed without a finding | |
Example: live check
Example: live check of a Bundestag debate
While a public broadcast runs, it is transcribed passage by passage. The statements in it are recognised, sources are searched and the statements are held against the selected sources. The example replays such a recording: the Bundestag debate of 24 September 2026 on modernising design law. Nothing of it actually runs; everything is stored in advance.
Close the example of the live checkWhat the example shows and what it does not
- The transcript follows the plenary record 21/96, pages 11943 C to 11946 D, in its preliminary version. Passages, statements and findings are written by hand, as a live check would produce them automatically.
- The recording of this agenda item was not available in the Bundestag's media library when the example was made. Instead of a time mark, each passage gives page and column of the plenary record, so you can read the original.
- The speakers are called Speaker 1 to 4, as a live check names them before you give names. Names, parliamentary groups and a town are replaced by [Name], [Fraktion] and [Ort]: what is checked is the text, not who says it.
- The chair's words, applause and interjections are left out. Two further speeches were only submitted to the record and never spoken; a live check would not have heard them, so they are missing.
- Only the plenary record and the two printed papers, which are official works, are quoted. The findings against the report on the hearing and against the annual report give value, origin and passage, but no quote.
Transcript
No passage yet. Start with “Play” or “Next passage”.
Sources
No source found yet.
Queue
No statement is waiting.
Findings
No finding yet.
Example: legislative competence
Example: what a draft law says about its legislative competence
The text checked is the section “Gesetzgebungskompetenz” of the explanatory memorandum of the government's draft on modernising design law (printed paper 21/6215), verbatim. The source is Articles 70 to 74 of the Basic Law as gesetze-im-internet.de publishes them. What is checked is whether the memorandum reproduces and applies these articles correctly, not whether the law is compatible with the constitution. The findings are in German.
The draft names no fundamental right that it restricts. It therefore contains no statement on the citation requirement of Art. 19(1) sentence 2 of the Basic Law that could be checked.
Close the example on legislative competenceWhat the findings mean
- Reproduction
- How the text reproduces the source: word for word (the quote stands like that in the source); in substance (in other words, without changing the meaning); shortened (reproduced correctly, but a condition of the source is missing); contradicts the wording (the text states the opposite of what the source says); not found in the source text (the quoted wording is in none of the selected sections).
- Reading
- Whether a conclusion is supported by the text: covered, not covered, or open, defensible, when the text allows more than one reading; each reading is then shown with its support, and the check does not decide between them. “by Wording” names the criterion; the check profile Legal text uses wording, context, legislative history and purpose.
- Verifiability
- Can be read directly (one passage is enough); traceable along the check path (several passages, to be read in order); expert assessment (depends on legal method).
- Check path
- The passages a finding rests on. Before display, each is checked to stand word for word in the section named.
- Prüfraster: what the document sets for itself
- Only under the check profile General: what a source sets for itself, such as definitions, units, scope, conditions, limits, status and positions it only reports. Every point has a passage quoted word for word; without one it is discarded and counted.
- without a finding
- Evaluations (judgements, statements about the world) and individual cases (what follows for a particular person) are listed, not checked; the one would be a fact check, the other legal advice on an individual case.
- not checked
- The statement needs a section that was not selected. A finding rests only on selected sections.
- Comparison
- The result as a document to read and print, each statement with a margin number beside its passages and its finding.
Example for illustration: the text checked and the source are official texts, the findings are written by hand. A real result is produced by the system automatically.
Only what the selected sources say is checked. The result is not legal advice and not a legal assessment of an individual case.
Checked on 27/09/2026. 2 checked, 0 not checked, 0 without a finding
The explanations of the findings are in German, like the texts they compare.
Text
Marked by finding. Click a passage to see it beside the passages it is checked against.