Fact Checking

Fact Checking (What)

To fact-check means to examine a message created by yourself or someone else and determine the degree to which this message presents an accurate view of reality.

Typically when information is inaccurate or wrong, we should strive to avoid transmitting it or accepting it.

Fact checking involves multiple actions: cross-referencing with credible sources, finding and reducing bias, checking for completeness, assessing the quality of sources, ensuring that the context described is not misleading, and so forth.

Fact Check (Rationale)

Excelling at fact checking is worthwhile for several reasons.

  1. Have an accurate view of reality; not an inaccurate one.

  2. Avoid believing or transmitting inaccurate or wrong information.

  3. Increase your confidence in information that you send to others.

  4. Avoid wasting your time trying to delve into and understand low quality information that you should ignore.

  5. Skill in fact checking is essential for competence in some professional fields: Medicine, engineering, law, accounting, journalism, and so on.

  6. Avoid being manipulated because manipulators routinely use misinformation (information that is untrue or misleading) as one of their methods for manipulation. Of course, the targets of the manipulator do not realize that they are being manipulated.

Fact Checking (How To)

Principles

  1. An accurate view of reality is worthwhile and should be sought after; accuracy matters.

  2. There are two ways to get information.

    1. Secondary Research: Give information from other people through the usual sources: books, web articles, lectures, asking questions, journal articles, videos, and so on.
    2. Primary Research: Get information by direct means: personal experience, experiments, calculations, math models, surveys, and so on.

  3. Rarely can something be known with 100% certainty. Instead, we strive to know something with a high probability of being correct.

Fact Checking (Secondary Research)

  1. Find multiple high quality sources of information.

    1. A high quality source has a high probability of being accurate.
    2. A high quality source has low or no bias (favoring one thing over others, potentially leading to flawed decision-making)

  2. Figure out what these sources are saying.

  3. Accept the consensus of these sources as the most likely accurate view of reality.

Fact Checking (Primary Research)

  1. Select methods for getting information that align with best practices for the associated professional field.

  2. Apply these methods in ways that experts in the fields would judge as “high quality.”

    1. An “expert” in a field is a person who consistently get high quality results with appropriate levels of quality.

  3. Subject your findings to review by multiple independent experts.

Tips

  1. Be your own worst critic. That is, bend over backwards to check your information to ensure it is as accurate as possible.

  2. Become skilled at evaluating the quality of sources. Here are some things to look for.

    1. Expertise. Experts get great results in their field; does your source have this track record in the field aligned with the information.
    2. Organization. Is your source aligned with know organization that has a reputation for accuracy.
    3. Reputation for Accuracy. How well have they done in the past with respect to accuracy?
    4. Bias: Is their evidence that your source favors one perspective without adequately considering other perspectives?
    5. Hidden Sources: Be wary if the source is hidden.

  3. Look for appropriate citations.

  4. Become skilled at recognizing manipulators.

    1. Look for charisma.
    2. Look for a promise of desirable things.
    3. Look for “I have a hidden truth that others will not tell you.”
    4. Look for “Don’t believe others, but believe me.”

  5. For news, the

  6. Check if statements in the information are true. If you are the sender, fix problems. If you are the receiver, statements that are false or unproven or unprovable, should raise red flags immediately.

  7. Check sources to ensure that they are credible.

  8. Check for bias.

  9. Check for missing information.

  10. Consider context (surrounding circumstances).

  11. Consider nuances.

  12. Check the credibility of the source (when you are the receiver of information).

  13. Triangulate.

There are multiple methods for fact checking that differ in reliability (probability of reaching the correct conclusion) and in the drawbacks (time, effort, and so forth).

To fact check, use the method(s) that get the best results for the fewest drawbacks. Here are some of the methods

Use the simplest approach that will get the job done.

Here is a list of the methods that vary from easiest to hardest.

  1. The AI Method: The AI Method: Use artificial intelligence to check the statement.

  2. Expert: Ask an expert or multiple experts.

  3. Aggregators: Check sources that collect and present information: Britannica and Wikipedia.

  4. Credible News Sources: Check

  5. Secondary Research:

  6. Primary Research:

  7. Triangulation:

To fact check in ways that give you the best results with the fewest drawbacks,

Here are some steps involved in fact-checking:

  1. Claim: Identify the statement that you are trying to verify.

  2. Reliable Sources: Get information from sources that can be trusted and see what they say, and look for patterns. Credible sources include government websites, academic journals, competent professionals, college textbooks, established news organizations, Britannica and Wikipedia. Use AI sites: ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and so on.

  3. Source Reliability: As needed, consider the reputation and the bias of the source.

  4. Look for evidence: Does the source provide evidence to support the claim?

  5. Consider other perspectives: Are there other sides to the story?

  6. Draw a conclusion: Based on your research, is the claim true, false, or misleading?

When: Fact-checking can be done before or after information is published.

Who: Fact-checking can be done by:

How: Here are some steps involved in fact-checking:

  1. Identify the claim: What information are you trying to verify?
  2. Seek reliable sources: Look for credible sources like government websites, academic journals, and established news organizations.
  3. Evaluate the source: Consider the reputation and bias of the source.
  4. Look for evidence: Does the source provide evidence to support the claim?
  5. Consider other perspectives: Are there other sides to the story?
  6. Draw a conclusion: Based on your research, is the claim true, false, or misleading?

By following these steps, you can become a more informed and critical consumer of information. ## Fact Checking: Who, What, When, Why, and How

What: Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of information, especially information that’s being reported in the news or shared online.

Why: Fact-checking is important because it helps us sort out truth from fiction. In today’s world, with so much information available, it’s easy to be misled by false or misleading claims. Fact-checking helps us make informed decisions and be responsible consumers of information.

When: Fact-checking can be done before or after information is published.

Who: Fact-checking can be done by:

How: Here are some steps involved in fact-checking:

  1. Identify the claim: What information are you trying to verify?
  2. Seek reliable sources: Look for credible sources like government websites, academic journals, and established news organizations.
  3. Evaluate the source: Consider the reputation and bias of the source.
  4. Look for evidence: Does the source provide evidence to support the claim?
  5. Consider other perspectives: Are there other sides to the story?
  6. Draw a conclusion: Based on your research, is the claim true, false, or misleading?

By following these steps, you can become a more informed and critical consumer of information. ## Fact Checking: Who, What, When, Why, and How

What: Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of information, especially information that’s being reported in the news or shared online.

Why: Fact-checking is important because it helps us sort out truth from fiction. In today’s world, with so much information available, it’s easy to be misled by false or misleading claims. Fact-checking helps us make informed decisions and be responsible consumers of information.

When: Fact-checking can be done before or after information is published.

Who: Fact-checking can be done by:

How: Here are some steps involved in fact-checking:

  1. Identify the claim: What information are you trying to verify?
  2. Seek reliable sources: Look for credible sources like government websites, academic journals, and established news organizations.
  3. Evaluate the source: Consider the reputation and bias of the source.
  4. Look for evidence: Does the source provide evidence to support the claim?
  5. Consider other perspectives: Are there other sides to the story?
  6. Draw a conclusion: Based on your research, is the claim true, false, or misleading?

By following these steps, you can become a more informed and critical consumer of information.