# Fallbacks that look like real data

Prompt · Correctness and reliability · R02

Finds screens that show a confident zero or an empty list when the real answer is 'we could not load this'.

## Prompt

```text
Trace every place the application silently substitutes a default, null, stale value, or empty result when something fails. Determine whether users could mistake the fallback for valid information.
```

**What it returns:** Each fallback with its trigger, what the user sees, and whether anything tells them it is a fallback.

**Skip it when:** Fallbacks that are already labelled on screen.

**Tools:** Repository; the app running to see what users see.

**Changes:** Changes nothing

**Sessions:** One session

## Related

- [Missing vs zero vs stale](https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/missing-vs-zero-vs-stale): Finds where 'we don't know' turns into 0 and then into a wrong total.
- [Security checks that fail open](https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/security-checks-that-fail-open): Finds security checks that let people in when something goes wrong.
- [Settings that differ in production](https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/settings-that-differ-in-production): Finds settings that behave differently in production than anyone expects.

Source: https://atlasscope.dev/prompts/fallbacks-that-look-like-real-data