Fact Check

or
Die!
 Why Fact-Chack?
In tradition, trust in media was established by
ethical behavior.
Distrust in the press grows when traditional
journalistic values, like fact-checking, are
forgotten.
We have seen a decline in trust in the media.
People citing inaccuracies, biases and special
interests as factors undermining credibility.
Fact-checking is a lot of work and frequently
expensive. But, it should be done to create good
faith.
“I have never checked a story that had no mistakes,
whether five pages long or two paragraphs. In
fairness, some of the ‘mistakes’ I find are matters
of interpretation, and authors usually agree to
change them. Virtually all articles, though, contain
errors on objective matters of fact: a year slightly
off; old data; misspellings; widely reported
information taken from secondary sources, but
wrong. And of course, ‘facts’ pulled from the
writer's mental archives. Errors often turn up when
the author says, ‘You don't need to check that, I
know that's right.’”
Ariel Hart, a top fact-checker
at the Columbia Journalism Review
 You will make mistakes.
Everyone does.
Sometimes it’s the way you say
something, and sometimes it’s the
substance of what you’re
saying. Either way,
it’s a problem.
Smart people
correct these
problems,

Amateurs hope that

no one will notice them.
Top investigative teams include
someone – an editor, or even a
full-time fact
checker –
whose job is to
guide the process
of making sure an
investigation was
perfectly executed
and composed.
As a journalist or news editor
you have to get the story right,
you have to cut or change the
facts that aren’t right,
and you must make sure the
tone of your story is justified.
 4 main components
 The first is making sure that you are,
in fact, telling a true story – not just a
story in which each fact is true, but
one in which the facts add up to a
larger truth. If an alternative
explanation makes more sense than
yours, something is wrong.

 Then, you confirm that you know the

source or sources for every factual
assertion in the story.
 4 main components
 Inthe process of verifying your sources,
you identify and correct mistakes in the
facts as stated.

 Atthe same time, you remove emotional

noise from your story – gratuitous bits of
insult, aggression or hostility that made
their way into your narrative when you
were tired or frustrated or scared.
 how it works?
 Read over the article with an eye towards the cited
facts. Use your instinct here: what sounds a little
too smooth to be true? What sounds off? Make
notes of these occurrences, along with details such
as sources quoted, location and any other pertinent
details.
 Use the Internet as a jumping-off point in
researching inaccuracies. Look up the information
cited in the piece, and look for links which either
support or rebuff the assertions made. Many facts
will be settled at this stage. Print out supporting
documentation in each case.
 how it works?
 For those facts which cannot be verified through the
Internet, make notes of sources you've come across
in researching the piece who can shed some light on
the issue. Follow up with them, clearly stating your
reasons for approaching them. Many will be happy
to help you.
 You need at least two people – the author, and
whoever is checking the story. Editor also can be
asked, if the issue needs special attention. Each has a
copy of the story.
 how it works?
 View the entire story to get the overall picture. Is it
biased, or fair? Does it feel as if something is
missing? Who, or what, might be able to present a
different picture?
 Then go through the story fact by fact, line by line.
The checker – an editor, a colleague, a lawyer, or
just a competent friend – asks of every fact: “How
do you know that?”
 how it works?
 The author gives a source. If the source is a
document, both parties look at the document
to make sure it is quoted accurately. If the
source is an interview, they look at the
interview notes, or listen to the recordings or
tapes.
 If there is no source, the author has to find
one. If no source can be found, the passage
must be cut.
 how it works?
 The fact-checker challenges in particular the
author’s interpretation of the target’s motives, goals
or thoughts. In general, this material should be cut.
However, if there is documentation to establish its
reality – for example, letters or diaries that
document an individual’s state of mind at a given
moment – it can be included.