Fact checking is a discipline that verifies information to determine accuracy. It falls under the umbrella of digital investigation and is critical to the work of journalists and anyone who seeks truth in a world rife with misinformation.
Fact-checking first emerged as a formal practice in American journalism in the 1920s at TIME Magazine, where editors hired a team of dedicated fact-checkers. The practice continued at other magazines and has now expanded to a global scale. It is increasingly common for news organizations to have dedicated teams of fact-checkers that investigate claims by politicians and other public figures. In addition, there are independent bodies such as Full Fact in the UK and Snopes that specialize in fact-checking.
The first thing that fact-checkers do is look at the author and source of a claim. They do not trust that a website is trustworthy simply because it has an “About” page. For example, if a site is masquerading as a nonpartisan think tank when it is actually funded by corporate interests and created by a Washington public relations firm, then they will find out.
They also know not to trust a site’s ability to rank highly in search engine results. They will often jump off the original page, open a new tab and Google the name of the site or the writer.
They will also look at the source of any statistics or numbers used in a claim. They will check whether the number is backed up by a reliable source such as government statistics or academic research (remember the old saying, “lies, damned lies and statistics”). Lastly, they will verify any dates used in a claim to ensure that they are accurate.
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