Five great fact-checking resources for content creators
Whether it’s some of the weirder ideas about vaccinations or the comprehensively debunked notion that COVID-19 is spread by 5G networks, we’ve seen a lot of new conspiracy theories of late. While many of these are so extreme no-one will take them seriously, when there’s a pandemic raging, propagating half-baked opinions can be dangerous.
With social media’s power to disseminate truths and untruths alike with great rapidity, it’s no surprise that state actors and interest groups have developed strategies that seek to weaponise fake news to further their particular agendas. The problem is that it can be too easy to pass these on – especially in the early stages when the full facts are still emerging.
But we don’t need to rely on common sense to decide whether or not to buy into the latest rumour. Given the prominence assumed by fake news in all its varieties, numerous organisations have created online resources we can tap up for resolution any rumour we’re not sure about.
Here are a few:
Snopes.com has been around since 1994 years and is pretty comprehensive: it examines the background of popular stories and sets out their sources, usually pretty promptly, or reproduces authoritative articles on controversies of the day. It’s independent and funded through advertising and reader contributions.
BBC Reality Check examines current myths and public claims, going to the most authoritative sources to verify or debunk in detail. You can also send in your questions – it’s a great resource for finding up-to-date facts and figures to ensure your content is based on the best information.
The FactCheck Blog from the UK’s Channel 4 News provides updates on issues arising from UK and European political activity, as well as some more global stories. They’re less prolific than some of the others here, but draw on their network of top journalists’ research capabilities for in-depth examinations of the facts.
The Washington Post’s FactChecker blog appears weekly. Run by award-winning political journo Glenn Kessler, it focuses on the widely publicised claims of major U.S. politicians, drawing on Kessler’s experience of digging for the truth during the ‘92 and ‘96 presidential campaigns and supported by a team of high-quality reporters.
I also follow AFP Fact Check on twitter: they’re good at putting out timely updates on stories of the day – sourced from a global network of fact-checkers whose teams work in numerous languages.
There are many more resources online, often country-specific and in numerous languages, so it’s never been easier to run down the facts behind any claims they’re looking to reproduce. No matter what kind of content you’re creating, these resources are invaluable for getting to grips with those niggling grey areas where the finer points of an issue may be a challenge.
As writers, we have the responsibility to ensure our facts are straight: very little will undermine your client’s credibility – and your own as a writer – more than publishing less-than-credible information.
