MODULE5:Fact-checking 101MODULE5Fact-checking 101byAlexiosMantzarlisSynopsisFrompoliticians to marketers, fromadvocacy groups to brands-everyone whoseeks to convince others has an incentive to distort, exaggerate or obfuscate thefacts.This module seeks to equipparticipants witha methodologyto detect fact-checkable claims and evaluate evidence critically,in line with ethical norms andstandards.OutlineHistory and semantics offact-checking as aformofaccountabilityjournalismDaniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S.Senator for the state of New York and Ambassador toIndia and the United Nations (1927-2003)famously said:“Everyone is entitled to his ownopinion,butnot tohisown facts.44The term“fact-checking"can mean two different things in journalism. Traditionally,fact-checkers were employed by newsrooms to proofread and verifyfactual claimsmade by reporters in their articles.This genre of fact-checking evaluates the solidityofthereporting,double-checksfacts andfigures,andserves as an overall roundofqualitycontrolfora news outlet's content beforepublication.Thedawn of this practicein modern journalism-at least in the West-is attributed to major U.S.weeklymagazines like TIME inthe1920s.145Theeconomiccontractionexperiencedbymostnewsorganisationsaroundtheworldsince the turn of the 21st century14 has meant that fact-checking departments haveshrunk, been merged with copy-editing desks, or eliminated altogether.Today, it isprimarilyhigh-browweeklymagazines likeTheNewYorker intheUnited StatesorDerSpiegelin Germany that still employ dedicated editorial fact-checkers.147Thetype of fact-checkingwhich will bethefocusof this modulehappensnotbeforesomething is published but aftera claim becomes of public relevance.This form of“ex144 Moynihan, D. & Weisman, S. (2010).Daniel Patrick Moynihan. New York: PublicAffairs.145 Scriber, B. (2o16). Who decides what's true in politics? A history of the rise of political fact-checking. [online] Poynterchecking [accessed 28/03/2018]Availableat:https://ww146 See Module Three147 Bloyd-Peshkin, S. & Sivek, S. (2o17). Magazines find there's little time to fact-check online. [online] Columbia Journalism Review.Availableat:https:/www.cir.org/b-roll/mane-fact-checking-online.php[accessed28/o3/2018]This content isfrom: Journalism,“Fake News'Download full book:- 81 -&Disinformation.UNESCO.2o18https:/bit.ly/2MuELY5
- 81 - This content is from: Journalism, ‘Fake News’ & Disinformation. UNESCO. 2018 Download full book: https://bit.ly/2MuELY5 MODULE 5: Fact-checking 101 MODULE 5 Fact-checking 101 by Alexios Mantzarlis Synopsis From politicians to marketers, from advocacy groups to brands — everyone who seeks to convince others has an incentive to distort, exaggerate or obfuscate the facts. This module seeks to equip participants with a methodology to detect factcheckable claims and evaluate evidence critically, in line with ethical norms and standards. Outline History and semantics of fact-checking as a form of accountability journalism Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator for the state of New York and Ambassador to India and the United Nations (1927-2003) famously said: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”144 The term “fact-checking” can mean two different things in journalism. Traditionally, fact-checkers were employed by newsrooms to proofread and verify factual claims made by reporters in their articles. This genre of fact-checking evaluates the solidity of the reporting, double-checks facts and figures, and serves as an overall round of quality control for a news outlet’s content before publication. The dawn of this practice in modern journalism — at least in the West — is attributed to major U.S. weekly magazines like TIME in the 1920s.145 The economic contraction experienced by most news organisations around the world since the turn of the 21st century146 has meant that fact-checking departments have shrunk, been merged with copy-editing desks, or eliminated altogether. Today, it is primarily high-brow weekly magazines like The New Yorker in the United States or Der Spiegel in Germany that still employ dedicated editorial fact-checkers.147 The type of fact-checking which will be the focus of this module happens not before something is published but after a claim becomes of public relevance. This form of “ex 144 Moynihan, D. & Weisman, S. (2010). Daniel Patrick Moynihan. New York: PublicAffairs. 145 Scriber, B. (2016). Who decides what’s true in politics? A history of the rise of political fact-checking. [online] Poynter. Available at: https://www.poynter.org/news/who-decides-whats-true-politics-history-rise-political-fact-checking [accessed 28/03/2018]. 146 See Module Three 147 Bloyd-Peshkin, S. & Sivek, S. (2017). Magazines find there’s little time to fact-check online. [online] Columbia Journalism Review. Available at: https://www.cjr.org/b-roll/magazine-fact-checking-online.php [accessed 28/03/2018]
post"fact-checking seeks to make politicians and otherpublic figures accountableforMODULE 5:Fact-checking 101the truthfulness of their statements.Fact-checkers in this line of work seek primary andreputablesourcesthat can confirmornegateclaimsmadeto thepublic.“Expost"fact-checkingconcentratesprimarily(butnotexclusively)onpoliticaladscampaignspeeches andpartymanifestos.Earlyprojects dedicatedto thisform ofpolitical fact-checking include Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public PolicyCenterat the University of Pennsylvania, launched in20o3,and Channel 4Fact Check,launched in 2005Fact-checking has grown in relevance and has spread around the world in the recentdecade.Two moments were particularly significant to the growth of this journalistic practice.Afirst wave was kick-started bythe 2oog Pulitzer Prize for national reporting,assigned toPolitiFact, a fact-checking project launched just over a year earlier by the St PetersburgTimes(nowTampa BayTimes)inFlorida.PolitiFact's innovation was torateclaims ona“Truth-O-Meter,"adding alayer of structureand clarityto thefact checks.(To critics,ratings introduce subjectivity to the process.) This structured approach made it veryclear to audiences what political fact-checking was about-and clarified the role oftheinstrument asa journalistictoolmeanttomakepublicfiguresaccountablefortheirwords - in the process, inspiring dozens of projects around the world.148The second wave of fact-checking projects emerged following the global surgein so-called fake news'.The term,now co-opted andmisused, describes entirelyfabricated sensationalist stories that reach enormous audiences by using social mediaalgorithms to theiradvantage.As it became clearover the courseof2o16 that theonline information infrastructurewas particularlypermeabletodisinformation andmisinformation,moreandmoregroupsdecided to turn theirattention tofact-checkingThis second waveoften concentrated asmuchonfact-checkingpublicclaimsasdebunking these viral hoaxes.Debunking is a subset of fact-checking and requires aspecific set of skills that are in common with verification (especially of user-generatedcontentknown as UGC-see Venn diagram below).This module will concentrate onfact-checking as defined below, while the next module will tackle verification of digitalcontentandsources.149148 Mantzarlis,A (2o7)In itsfrst decade, PolitiFact helped define poltical fact-checkingfar beyond Washington, .c[online] PoynterAvailable at: https://wwwpoynter.org/news/its-first-decade-politifact-helped-define-political-fact-chzr-hoeyond-washington-dc[accessed 28/03/2018],149 See Module SixThis content is from:Journalism, "Fake News'Download full book:- 82 -&Disinformation.UNESCO.2o18https:/bit.ly/2MuELY5
- 82 - This content is from: Journalism, ‘Fake News’ & Disinformation. UNESCO. 2018 Download full book: https://bit.ly/2MuELY5 MODULE 5: Fact-checking 101 post” fact-checking seeks to make politicians and other public figures accountable for the truthfulness of their statements. Fact-checkers in this line of work seek primary and reputable sources that can confirm or negate claims made to the public. “Ex post” fact-checking concentrates primarily (but not exclusively) on political ads, campaign speeches and party manifestos. Early projects dedicated to this form of political fact-checking include Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, launched in 2003, and Channel 4 Fact Check, launched in 2005. Fact-checking has grown in relevance and has spread around the world in the recent decade. Two moments were particularly significant to the growth of this journalistic practice. A first wave was kick-started by the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, assigned to PolitiFact, a fact-checking project launched just over a year earlier by the St Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) in Florida. PolitiFact’s innovation was to rate claims on a “Truth-O-Meter,” adding a layer of structure and clarity to the fact checks. (To critics, ratings introduce subjectivity to the process.) This structured approach made it very clear to audiences what political fact-checking was about — and clarified the role of the instrument as a journalistic tool meant to make public figures accountable for their words — in the process, inspiring dozens of projects around the world.148 The second wave of fact-checking projects emerged following the global surge in so-called ‘fake news’. The term, now co-opted and misused, describes entirely fabricated sensationalist stories that reach enormous audiences by using social media algorithms to their advantage. As it became clear over the course of 2016 that the online information infrastructure was particularly permeable to disinformation and misinformation, more and more groups decided to turn their attention to fact-checking. This second wave often concentrated as much on fact-checking public claims as debunking these viral hoaxes. Debunking is a subset of fact-checking and requires a specific set of skills that are in common with verification (especially of user-generated content known as UGC - see Venn diagram below). This module will concentrate on fact-checking as defined below, while the next module will tackle verification of digital content and sources.149 148 Mantzarlis, A. (2017). In its first decade, PolitiFact helped define political fact-checking far beyond Washington, D.C. [online] Poynter. Available at: https://www.poynter.org/news/its-first-decade-politifact-helped-define-political-fact-checking-far-beyond-washington-dc [accessed 28/03/2018]. 149 See Module Six
MODULE 5: Fact-checking 101DebunkingFact-checkingVerification(fakenewsExpost,onclaimsof.Exante,mostlyonUGC&viral hoaxes).Seeksprimaryevidencepublicreleveance·Relieson informationfrom eyewitnesses or thrufromexperts,academia,geolocation, reverse imagesearch, etc.governmentsagencies·Results in anadjudicated.Results ina story beingpublished-or stoppedconclusion on claim's veracityTANFACT-CHECKINGNETWORK @ PoynterFigure5:ThedifferencebetweenFact-checkingand VerificationExamples of fact-checking organisations aroundthe worldAccording to the Duke Reporters' Lab, there were 137 fact-checking projects active in 51countriesinDecember2o1750WhiletheUnited States isthe largestmarketforfact-checking,someof themostthoughtful and innovative work in this field is happening in the rest of the world.Instructorsmaywant to familiarise themselves with projects such as Africa Check(South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya),Chequeado(Argentina),Les Decodeurs(France), Faktisk (Norway)andFull Fact (UnitedKingdom).For instructors who want to concentrate on specific countries or regions, the followingresources may be helpful:Brazil:“Fact-checkingbooms in BrazilanarticlebyKate Steiker-Ginzberg for Poynter, available at: https://www.poynter.org/news/fact-checking-booms-brazilEurope:“TheRiseof Fact-Checking Sites in Europe"a reportbyLucasDGraves and Federica Cherubini for the Reuters Institute at the UniversityofOxford,availableathttp://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/rise-fact-checking-sites-europe#overlay-context=15o Stencel, M. (2o17). Fact-checking booms as numbers grow by 20 percent. [online] Duke Reporters LabAvailable at: https:/reporterslab.org/big-year-fact-checking-not-new-u-s-fact-checkers/ [accessed 28/o3/2o18]This content is from: Journalism, “Fake News'Download full book:- 83 -&Disinformation.UNESCO.2o18https:/bit.ly/2MuELY5
- 83 - This content is from: Journalism, ‘Fake News’ & Disinformation. UNESCO. 2018 Download full book: https://bit.ly/2MuELY5 MODULE 5: Fact-checking 101 Figure 5: The difference between Fact-checking and Verification Examples of fact-checking organisations around the world According to the Duke Reporters’ Lab, there were 137 fact-checking projects active in 51 countries in December 2017150. While the United States is the largest market for fact-checking, some of the most thoughtful and innovative work in this field is happening in the rest of the world. Instructors may want to familiarise themselves with projects such as Africa Check (South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya), Chequeado (Argentina), Les Décodeurs (France), Faktisk (Norway) and Full Fact (United Kingdom). For instructors who want to concentrate on specific countries or regions, the following resources may be helpful: ɒ Brazil: “Fact-checking booms in Brazil,” an article by Kate SteikerGinzberg for Poynter, available at: https://www.poynter.org/news/ fact-checking-booms-brazil ɒ Europe: “The Rise of Fact-Checking Sites in Europe” a report by Lucas Graves and Federica Cherubini for the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford, available at http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/ rise-fact-checking-sites-europe#overlay-context= 150 Stencel, M. (2017). Fact-checking booms as numbers grow by 20 percent. [online] Duke Reporters Lab. Available at: https://reporterslab.org/big-year-fact-checking-not-new-u-s-fact-checkers/ [accessed 28/03/2018]. Fact-checking • Ex post, on claims of public releveance • Relies on information from experts, academia, governments agencies • Results in an adjudicated conclusion on claim’s veracity Debunking (fake news & viral hoaxes) Verification • Ex ante, mostly on UGC • Seeks primary evidence from eyewitnesses or thru geolocation, reverse image search, etc. • Results in a story being published - or stopped
>Japan:“A newfact-checking coalition is launching in Japan"an articlebyMODULE 5: Fact-checking 101MasatoKajimotoforPoynter,availableathttps://www.poynter.org/newslnew-fact-checking-coalition-launching-japan South Korea:“"What's behind South Korea's fact-checking boom? Tensepolitics and the decline of investigative journalism,"an article by BoyoungLimfor Poynter,availableat http://www.poynter.org/2o1z/whats-behind-south-koreas-fact-checking-boom-tense-politics-and-the-decline-of-investigative-journalism/463655/l Latin America:“Lack of access to information is driving LatinAmerica'sfact-checkingboom"an article by Ivan Echt forPoynter,availableonlineathttps://www.poynter.org/news/lack-access-information-driving-latin-americas-fact-checking-boom United States of America:“Deciding What's True:The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism"a book by Lucas Graves or its review byBrad ScriberonPoynter,availableonlineat:https://www.poynter.org/newslwho-decides-whats-true-politics-history-rise-political-fact-checkingMethodology and ethics of fact-checkingFact-checking is not rocket science. It is scrupulous analysis driven by one basicquestion:“Howdoweknowthat?"At the sametime,fact-checking is not spell-checkingThere is not a dictionary-style guidebook with all the facts,nor a simple software thatwill examinedocumentsand flaganytimesomethinghas beenmisstated asfact.Generallyspeaking,fact-checking iscomposed of threephases:1.Findingfact-checkableclaims by scouringthroughlegislativerecords,media outlets and social media. This process includes determiningwhich major public claims (a) can be fact-checked and (b) ought to befact-checked.2.Finding thefacts by looking for the best available evidence regarding theclaim at hand.3. Correcting the record by evaluating the claim in light of the evidence,usuallyona scaleof truthfulness.Trustworthy fact-checking organisations explain their process in public methodologies.Instructors may want to walk students through one or more of thefollowingThis content is from: Journalism,“Fake News'Download full book:-84-&Disinformation.UNESCO.2018https://bit.ly/2MuELY5
- 84 - This content is from: Journalism, ‘Fake News’ & Disinformation. UNESCO. 2018 Download full book: https://bit.ly/2MuELY5 MODULE 5: Fact-checking 101 ɒ Japan: “A new fact-checking coalition is launching in Japan” an article by Masato Kajimoto for Poynter, available at https://www.poynter.org/news/ new-fact-checking-coalition-launching-japan ɒ South Korea: “What’s behind South Korea’s fact-checking boom? Tense politics and the decline of investigative journalism,” an article by Boyoung Lim for Poynter, available at http://www.poynter.org/2017/whats-behindsouth-koreas-fact-checking-boom-tense-politics-and-the-decline-ofinvestigative-journalism/463655/ ɒ Latin America: “Lack of access to information is driving Latin America’s fact-checking boom” an article by Ivan Echt for Poynter, available online at https://www.poynter.org/news/ lack-access-information-driving-latin-americas-fact-checking-boom ɒ United States of America: “Deciding What’s True: The Rise of Political FactChecking in American Journalism” a book by Lucas Graves or its review by Brad Scriber on Poynter, available online at: https://www.poynter.org/news/ who-decides-whats-true-politics-history-rise-political-fact-checking Methodology and ethics of fact-checking Fact-checking is not rocket science. It is scrupulous analysis driven by one basic question: “How do we know that?” At the same time, fact-checking is not spell-checking. There is not a dictionary-style guidebook with all the facts, nor a simple software that will examine documents and flag anytime something has been misstated as fact. Generally speaking, fact-checking is composed of three phases: 1. Finding fact-checkable claims by scouring through legislative records, media outlets and social media. This process includes determining which major public claims (a) can be fact-checked and (b) ought to be fact-checked. 2. Finding the facts by looking for the best available evidence regarding the claim at hand. 3. Correcting the record by evaluating the claim in light of the evidence, usually on a scale of truthfulness. Trustworthy fact-checking organisations explain their process in public methodologies. Instructors may want to walk students through one or more of the following:
1.Africa Check's“HowWeWork"page(accessibleathttps://africacheck.org/MODULE 5: Fact-checking 101about-us/how-we-workD as well as the infographic in the Materials section2.Chequeado's“"Metodo"(accessible in Spanish at:http://chequeado.com/metodoD3.Pagella Politica's“Metodologia"and"Come funzioniamo"(accessible inItalianathttps://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index)4.PolitiFact's“The Principles of PolitiFact"(accessible at http:/lwww.politifact.com/truth-0-meter/article/2013/nov/o1/principles-politifact-punditfact-and-truth-o-meterDThe International Fact-CheckingNetwork (IFCN)5has alsodevelopeda codeofprinciples that guide conscientious fact-checkers in their everyday work.Fact-checking organisations apply to become verified signatories of the IFCN codeofprinciples.Thisrequiresanexternalassessmentthatevaluatestheeffectiveimplementationof thesestandards.Instructorsmaywanttofamiliarisethemselves withthe code and find assessments made on fact-checking organisations from their country'sand discuss whether the students find that these make themmore likely to trust thefact-checkers or not.Theseprincipleshavebeendevelopedtohelpreadersdiscerngoodfact-checkingfrombad.Foranexampleofmisinformationmasqueradingasfact-checking,instructorsmaywanttosharetheexamplesinthesetwoarticles: Thesefakefact-checkers are peddling lies about genocide and censorship inTurkey (Poynter) https://www.poynter.org/news/these-fake-fact-checkers-are-peddling-lies-about-genocide-and-censorship-turkey In the post-truth era Sweden's far-rightfake fact checker was inevitable(TheGuardian)https://www.theguardian.com/media/2o17/lian/19)in-the-post-truth-era-swedens-far-right-fake-fact-checker-was-inevitableWhatgets intheway of factsBefore diving into the practical aspects of fact-checking, students need to be aware ofits limitations-andtheirown.Some commentators have declared that we have entered a“post-truth"or“post-fact"era.Thesetermsfeaturedinheadlinesallovertheworldin2o16andwereselectedasitzarlis, leads the International Fact Checking Network151Theauthor,AlexiosMannational-fact-checking-network-fact-checkers-code-principles_[accessed: 28/o3/2o18]152Available at https:/www.poynter.org/inteThis content is from: Journalism,“Fake NewsDownload full book:- 85-&Disinformation.UNESCO.2018https://bit.ly/2MuELY5
- 85 - This content is from: Journalism, ‘Fake News’ & Disinformation. UNESCO. 2018 Download full book: https://bit.ly/2MuELY5 MODULE 5: Fact-checking 101 1. Africa Check’s “How We Work” page (accessible at https://africacheck.org/ about-us/how-we-work/) as well as the infographic in the Materials section 2. Chequeado’s “Metodo” (accessible in Spanish at: http://chequeado.com/ metodo/) 3. Pagella Politica’s “Metodologia” and “Come funzioniamo” (accessible in Italian at https://pagellapolitica.it/progetto/index) 4. PolitiFact’s “The Principles of PolitiFact” (accessible at http:// www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/nov/01/ principles-politifact-punditfact-and-truth-o-meter/) The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN)151 has also developed a code of principles that guide conscientious fact-checkers in their everyday work. Fact-checking organisations apply to become verified signatories of the IFCN code of principles. This requires an external assessment that evaluates the effective implementation of these standards. Instructors may want to familiarise themselves with the code and find assessments made on fact-checking organisations from their country152 and discuss whether the students find that these make them more likely to trust the fact-checkers or not. These principles have been developed to help readers discern good fact-checking from bad. For an example of misinformation masquerading as fact-checking, instructors may want to share the examples in these two articles: ɒ These fake fact-checkers are peddling lies about genocide and censorship in Turkey (Poynter) https://www.poynter.org/news/these-fake-fact-checkers-arepeddling-lies-about-genocide-and-censorship-turkey ɒ In the post-truth era Sweden’s far-right fake fact checker was inevitable. (The Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/19/ in-the-post-truth-era-swedens-far-right-fake-fact-checker-was-inevitable What gets in the way of facts Before diving into the practical aspects of fact-checking, students need to be aware of its limitations — and their own. Some commentators have declared that we have entered a “post-truth” or “post-fact” era. These terms featured in headlines all over the world in 2016 and were selected as 151 The author, Alexios Mantzarlis, leads the International Fact Checking Network 152 Available at https://www.poynter.org/international-fact-checking-network-fact-checkers-code-principles. [accessed: 28/03/2018]