A presentation delivered at AEJMC 2014, this provides a brief history of fact-checking, and looks at its evolution as a form of journalism. It also offers some guidance on the importance of verification, and why it needs to be taught.

1. From Fact-Checking to
Verification
@CraigSilverman
Editor, Regret the Error, Poynter
Editor, Verification Handbook

2. In The Beginning: Magazine Fact-
Checking
“Any bright girl who really applies herself to the
handling of the checking problem can have a
very pleasant time with it and fill the week
with happy moments and memorable
occasions” — Edward Kennedy, Time (1920s)

3. 30s to 70s
• New Yorker, Esquire, New York, The Atlantic,
Forbes, Fortune, Newsweek etc. add checking
departments.
• Closed process.
• Job is a stepping stone.

4. Checker’s Mindset
“I knew nobody would notice the difference. But
there’s a certain aesthetic pleasure in just
knowing it’s correct.”

5. Decline of Checking
• Newsweek eliminates checkers, 1996
• Fortune, 1997
• Cutbacks and outsourcing

6. Media Fact-Checking
• Accuracy in Media, 1969
• FAIR, 1986
• Media Research Center, 1987 (NewsBusters)
• Honest Reporting (2000),
• CAMERA (1982)
• Media Matters for America, 2004

7. Rise of Political Fact-Checking
• FactCheck.org, 1993
• PolitiFact, 2007
Today: Over 40 active fact-checking sites.
Source: https://www.reporterslab.org/duke-study-finds-fact-checking-growing-around-the-world/

9. Fact-Checkers today
“Fact-checking is a relatively new form of
journalism in which reporters research the
accuracy of statements by politicians. In the
past, fact-checking was primarily done on
political ads, but it’s been expanded to any
kind of statement — speeches, interviews,
press releases, even tweets.”
— Bill Adair founder of PolitiFact

10. New: Networks
Source: Statistica, http://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/

11. New: Abundance
• 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube ever
minute.
• More than 500 million tweets sent per day.
• More than 55 million Instagram photos
uploaded per day.

12. Social Media/Meme Checking

13. “Journalism is a discipline of
verification”
— The Elements of Journalism

14. So…
Let’s teach this discipline!

16. Three Elements
Verification employs a mix of three factors:
1. A person’s resourcefulness, persistence,
skepticism and skill.
2. Sources’ knowledge, reliability and honesty, and
the number, variety and reliability of sources you
can consult/talk to.
3. Documentation.
Source: Steve Buttry, Verification Handbook

17. Verification Values
• Restraint.
• Discipline.
• Multiple sources.
• Communication.
• Collaboration.

18. Mindset
• Assume it’s not true.
• Skeptical.
• Investigator.
• Separate emotion and motivation from work.

19. Core Activities
• Identify and investigate the original source — and
interview them.
• Confirm date and time.
• Confirm content of the information.
• Research similar events, content.
• Speak to additional sources. “How do you know
that?”
• Triangulate all collected information.
• Use tools when possible, but not just tools.

20. Verification Toolkit
• VerificationHandbook.com
• Skype/Phone
• Reverse image search
• EXIF reader
• Google Maps/Earth
• Who.is
• Spokeo, Pipl.com,WebMii.com
• Twitter Advanced Search
• YouTube Data Viewer
• Izitru

21. Resources
• VerificationHandbook.com
• Coming soon: six free videos on verification,
more case studies.
• Citizen Evidence
• Bellingcat
• Regret the Error

22. Discussion
• Complete our survey:
– http://bitly.com/verificationsurvey
• What are you teaching about verification and
fact-checking? What works?
• Why isn’t it being taught?
• What can we create to help you teach the
discipline of verification?