My Digital Garden

Fact checking

Fact checking

The process of confirming that stated facts are reliable, and a rubric to guide that process.

Stop

  • sense-check, do you know the website or other source?
  • remember your purpose, and titrate your level of effort accordingly
  • if you are going to repeat a claim, that implies bnetter checking

Investigate the Source

  • who wrote this?
  • what is their expertise?
  • what might be their motivation?

Find better coverage

  • look for trusted sources that repeat (or refute) the claim
  • look for consensus
  • do you agree with the consensus?
  • beware primary sources which require more expertise and context to analyse correctly

Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context

  • many things on the internet are distorted by removal of context
  • find the original source
  • sense-check the version you are evaluating against the source

See also