diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a78f3b0b..e47c20d9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@
     "test:media": "node scripts/smoke-media.mjs",
     "validate:short-form": "node .claude/skills/short-form-edit/scripts/validate-plan.mjs",
     "validate:footage": "node .claude/skills/short-form-edit/scripts/validate-footage.mjs",
-    "preflight:all": "node scripts/preflight-all.mjs"
+    "preflight:all": "node scripts/preflight-all.mjs",
+    "check:placeholders": "node scripts/check-placeholders.mjs"
   },
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=22"
diff --git a/scripts/check-placeholders.mjs b/scripts/check-placeholders.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e3183f1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/check-placeholders.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * check-placeholders.mjs — fail a build that still contains the kit's
+ * illustrative placeholder content.
+ *
+ * The kit's own docs say:
+ *
+ *   "Library names, handles, statistics, and source labels inside cards are
+ *    illustrative placeholders. Replace them with your own verified copy
+ *    before publishing a video."
+ *
+ * Nothing enforced that. This does. Ship an unreplaced card and you publish an
+ * invented statistic, under a fabricated source line, on your own channel.
+ *
+ *   node scripts/check-placeholders.mjs                 scan video-projects/
+ *   node scripts/check-placeholders.mjs path/to/project scan one project
+ *   node scripts/check-placeholders.mjs --list          show what it looks for
+ *
+ * The style library is NOT scanned by default and must not be: its cards are
+ * supposed to contain placeholders. Only your built project has to be clean.
+ *
+ * Exit 0 = clean. Exit 1 = placeholders found. Exit 2 = bad usage.
+ */
+import { readFileSync, existsSync, readdirSync, statSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join, dirname, relative } from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+const ROOT = join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "..");
+
+/* Each rule: what it catches, and why it matters if it ships. */
+const FAIL = [
+  { id: "source-label", re: /SOURCE\s*[·|\-–—:]\s*[^<>\n]{0,60}/gi,
+    why: "fabricated citation line — attributes a number to a source that does not exist" },
+  { id: "placeholder-handle", re: /@(handle|yourchannel|yourbrand|username|channel)\b/gi,
+    why: "placeholder social handle" },
+  { id: "shipped-handle", re: /@ronnymitchell\b/gi,
+    why: "a specific handle carried in the library cards — replace it with your own" },
+  { id: "font-placeholder", re: /["']FontName["']/g,
+    why: "blueprint font placeholder — the card will fall back to a system face" },
+  { id: "lorem", re: /lorem ipsum|your name here|example\.com|replace me/gi,
+    why: "unreplaced dummy copy" },
+];
+
+/* Not failures. Numbers a human has to look at before publishing. */
+const WARN = [
+  { id: "statistic", re: />\s*(\d{1,3}(?:\.\d+)?\s*%|\d+(?:\.\d+)?\s*[BMK]\b|\d+\s*[x×]\b)\s*</g,
+    why: "a statistic — verify it is yours and true, or replace it" },
+];
+
+const args = process.argv.slice(2);
+if (args.includes("--list")) {
+  console.log("FAILS the build:");
+  for (const r of FAIL) console.log(`  ${r.id.padEnd(20)} ${r.why}`);
+  console.log("\nWARNS only:");
+  for (const r of WARN) console.log(`  ${r.id.padEnd(20)} ${r.why}`);
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
+const target = args.find((a) => !a.startsWith("--")) || join(ROOT, "video-projects");
+if (!existsSync(target)) {
+  console.log(`check-placeholders: nothing to scan — ${relative(ROOT, target) || target} does not exist yet.`);
+  console.log("Build a project first, then run this before you publish.");
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
+const SKIP = new Set(["node_modules", ".git", "_preview", "style-library", "docs", "examples", "tests"]);
+const EXT = /\.(html?|css|json|md|txt)$/i;
+
+function walk(dir, out = []) {
+  for (const entry of readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
+    if (entry.isDirectory()) {
+      if (!SKIP.has(entry.name)) walk(join(dir, entry.name), out);
+    } else if (EXT.test(entry.name)) {
+      out.push(join(dir, entry.name));
+    }
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+const files = statSync(target).isDirectory() ? walk(target) : [target];
+let fails = 0, warns = 0;
+
+for (const file of files) {
+  const lines = readFileSync(file, "utf8").split("\n");
+  const rel = relative(ROOT, file);
+  lines.forEach((line, i) => {
+    for (const rule of FAIL) {
+      for (const m of line.matchAll(rule.re)) {
+        fails++;
+        console.log(`FAIL ${rel}:${i + 1}  [${rule.id}]  ${m[0].trim().slice(0, 70)}`);
+        console.log(`       ${rule.why}`);
+      }
+    }
+    for (const rule of WARN) {
+      for (const m of line.matchAll(rule.re)) {
+        warns++;
+        console.log(`warn ${rel}:${i + 1}  [${rule.id}]  ${m[0].replace(/[<>]/g, "").trim()}`);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+}
+
+console.log("");
+if (fails) {
+  console.log(`${fails} placeholder(s) must be replaced before publishing. ${warns} statistic(s) to verify.`);
+  console.log("The kit's docs: 'Replace them with your own verified copy before publishing a video.'");
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+console.log(`No placeholders. ${warns} statistic(s) flagged for a human to verify.`);
+process.exit(0);