ATLAS — Claim Verification with Scientific Rigor

A Popperian fact-checker for the age of misinformation

MCP server for Claude Desktop that applies the scientific method to verify claims from social media, news, and blogs — with real academic sources, not opinions.

Installation • How it Works • Usage • Verdict Scale • Protocol • Español

The Problem

Every day, millions of people see claims like these on social media:

"According to neuroscience studies, the emojis you use reveal your personality"
"Intermittent fasting cures diabetes"
"A Harvard study proves that..."

Behind many of these claims there are no real studies, no qualified professionals, and no scientific evidence. But most people have no way to verify this quickly and rigorously.

The Solution

ATLAS is not another AI chatbot that gives opinions. It applies Karl Popper's falsifiability principle: it doesn't claim what is true — it documents what is demonstrably false or lacks evidence, backed by real, verified academic sources.

When you present a claim to ATLAS:

Decomposes the claim into verifiable sub-claims
Verifies the source's credentials (who said this? are they qualified?)
Searches for real academic studies (PubMed, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar)
Verifies every URL before citing it (no hallucinated references)
Actively seeks refutation — not confirmation
Generates alternative hypotheses (simpler explanations)
Issues a proportional verdict based on evidence strength
Stores everything for future reference

"We don't possess the truth. We only have a higher-quality ignorance, capable of refuting what we know to be false."

What Makes ATLAS Different

| Feature | Traditional Fact-checkers | AI Chatbots | ATLAS | |---------|--------------------------|-------------|-------| | Speed | Hours/days (manual) | Seconds | Minutes (thorough) | | Sources | Journalist judgment | Memory (often hallucinated) | Verified academic sources | | Methodology | Editorial | None | Scientific method | | Persistence | Website articles | None (forgets) | Local database | | URL verification | Manual | None | Automatic via web_fetch | | Actively seeks refutation | Sometimes | No | Always (by protocol) | | Source credibility tracking | No | No | Yes, over time | | Cost | Free to read | Subscription | Your existing Claude subscription |

Installation

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop installed
uv package manager
Python 3.11+ (uv will install it if needed)

Step 1: Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Ispau/atlas-mcp.git
cd atlas-mcp

Or download and extract the ZIP to your home directory.

Step 2: Install dependencies

uv sync

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

Open Claude Desktop's configuration file:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add ATLAS to your MCP servers:

Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "atlas": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "C:\\Users\\YOUR_USER\\atlas-mcp", "python", "server.py"],
      "autoApprove": [
        "atlas_check_claim",
        "atlas_store_verification",
        "atlas_get_source_history",
        "atlas_get_similar",
        "atlas_get_verification",
        "atlas_stats"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Mac/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "atlas": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/Users/YOUR_USER/atlas-mcp", "python", "server.py"],
      "autoApprove": [
        "atlas_check_claim",
        "atlas_store_verification",
        "atlas_get_source_history",
        "atlas_get_similar",
        "atlas_get_verification",
        "atlas_stats"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Set up the verification protocol

Create a Project in Claude Desktop and paste the contents of PROTOCOL.md into the project's Custom Instructions.

Step 5: Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop. ATLAS is ready when you see the tools loaded.

Usage

Open a conversation inside your ATLAS project and ask naturally:

I saw on Instagram that according to neuroscience studies, 
the emojis you use on WhatsApp reveal your personality. Is this true?

ATLAS will:

Check if it has already verified this claim
Decompose it into testable sub-claims
Search for real academic papers
Verify every URL before citing
Actively search for counter-evidence
Analyze the source's credentials
Store the complete verification for future reference

More examples

A health blog claims that alkaline water prevents cancer. Verify this.

Someone shared that a Stanford study proves AI will replace 80% of jobs by 2030.
Can you check this?

What's the track record of @health_guru_account? (after several verifications)

Show me ATLAS statistics.

How it Works

ATLAS is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server — a lightweight Python process that gives Claude Desktop persistent memory and a structured verification protocol.

You ask Claude to verify a claim
         │
         ├── Claude calls atlas_check_claim (prior verifications?)
         ├── Claude uses web_search (find academic sources)
         ├── Claude uses web_fetch (verify every URL exists)
         ├── Claude calls atlas_store_verification (save results)
         │
         └── All stored in local SQLite database on YOUR machine

No external APIs. No cloud services. No additional cost beyond your Claude subscription.

Tools

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | atlas_check_claim | Search prior verifications (always called first) | | atlas_store_verification | Store complete verification with evidence | | atlas_get_source_history | Track record of a source over time | | atlas_get_similar | Find related verifications by topic | | atlas_get_verification | Retrieve full verification by ID | | atlas_stats | Overall statistics and patterns |

Tech Stack

Python with FastMCP SDK
SQLite for persistent storage (zero configuration)
Claude Desktop as the reasoning engine
3 dependencies: mcp, pydantic, filelock

Verdict Scale

| Verdict | Meaning | Example | |---------|---------|---------| | refuted | Active evidence proves it false | "The Earth is flat" | | no_evidential_support | No studies or evidence found | "Emojis determine personality" | | anecdotal_evidence | Only testimonials, no systematic studies | "Vinegar cures cancer" | | preliminary_evidence | Some study exists but with serious limitations | "5 min meditation raises IQ" | | moderate_evidence | Several consistent studies, no consensus | "Video games improve reflexes" | | solid_evidence | Broad scientific consensus, well documented | "Exercise reduces cardiovascular risk" | | indeterminate | Could not be evaluated | Claim too vague or no accessible sources |

Protocol

The complete verification protocol is in PROTOCOL.md. It implements:

Semantic clarity — Decompose claims into verifiable parts
Burden of proof — Who claims must provide evidence
Source verification — Credentials, affiliations, conflicts of interest
Academic evidence search — Real papers from PubMed, Google Scholar
URL verification — Every link confirmed with web_fetch before citing
Methodological evaluation — Sample size, controls, replicability
Active refutation search — Deliberately search for counter-evidence
Alternative hypotheses — Simpler explanations
Proportional verdict — Matched to evidence strength
Persistent storage — Build knowledge over time
Epistemic humility — Never claim absolute truth

Data & Privacy

All data stored locally in ~/atlas/atlas.db
Nothing is sent to external servers (beyond Claude's normal operation)
Backup by copying the atlas.db file
Delete all data by removing atlas.db

Philosophy

ATLAS is built on Karl Popper's critical rationalism:

We cannot prove claims true — we can only fail to prove them false
Falsifiability is the criterion — if a claim can't be tested, it's not scientific
Evidence is proportional — stronger claims require stronger evidence
No dogmatism — science doesn't possess absolute truth
Intellectual honesty — saying "I don't know" is a valid answer

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Areas where help is needed:

Translations of the protocol to other languages
Specialized protocols for specific domains (medicine, nutrition, economics)
Testing with diverse claim types and edge cases
Documentation improvements and examples

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

In an age of misinformation, the ability to refute falsehood is more valuable than the claim to possess truth.

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