V. I. A.
Verification, Independence, and Accountability
Lesson 3:2
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For our purposes, we define each of the letters that make up VIA as so:
- Verification
A process of collecting evidence that establishes or confirms the accuracy or truth of something.
- Independence
Freedom from the control, influence, or support of interested parties, coupled with a conscious effort to set aside any preexisting beliefs and a system of checks and balances.
- Accountability
Being responsible or answerable for your work.
So how do you check that these exist in a piece of information that you are trying to verify as a piece of news?
Verification
Verification
Journalists collect evidence with the goal of providing the most accurate version of events. For example, in a news report on a political bribery scandal, emails and recordings of phone calls between the corrupt politician and the parties bribing him would serve as powerful pieces of direct evidence.
As an example of how to seek verification of claims made in a story, this recent piece from the NYTimes highlights Dr. Sarpan Desai, a scientist who collected data for a study used to support the belief that antimalarial drugs, like hydroxychloroquine, were dangerous to patients when used as a treatment for the coronavirus. The study was later retracted when other scientists found that they were unable to verify the data supplied by the firm owned by Dr. Desai.
Information on this is provided in the subheading of the story, which is found under the headline:
"Dr. Sapan Desai, who supplied the data for two prominent and later retracted studies, is said to have a history of cutting corners and misrepresenting information in pursuit of his ambitions."
This is a version of what is usually called the "lede" in the story, or the claim which the story is based on. Breaking, or straight news stories that have the intention of only telling you the basics, usually put the lede this in the first sentence of the story. This story, which is more descriptive, places it in the subheading.
Knowing this, we should then look for what evidence the story presents to support this claim.
Further down the story, starting in paragraph 6, we find this:
In both snippets, we see evidence that shows that the reporters have verified and essentially "pulled back the curtain" on evidence that was gathered to show a pattern of behavior by Dr. Desai over time in different positions. These, and other pieces help to verify the claim stated in the subhead of the story.
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