Ask any chat tool: 'List 3 published sources on [a niche topic you know] with authors and years.' Search for each one. You're done when you've marked each real / not-found — you'll likely find at least one ghost.
How-to · VER · VER.3
Spot the invented citation
Models fabricate plausible-looking references; every citation must be opened before it's repeated.
Worked example
AI-invented references look perfect: real-sounding authors, plausible journals, confident years. The tell isn't the formatting — it's that the paper doesn't exist. Rule: a citation you haven't opened is a rumor, not a source.