Fact-Checking 101

OVERVIEW

This module was created by Brooke Borel, author of "The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking" and director of the Moore Fact-Checking Project at the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Program at MIT. In it, you will learn about the practical and philosophical aspects of editorial fact-checking (as distinguished from political fact-checking, a related but separate journalistic practice).

THE FACT-CHECKING MODULE CONTAINS SEVEN UNITS:

1. Who Fact-Checks

2. What to Fact-Check

3. When and How to Fact-Check

4. Fact-Checking in Science Reporting

5. Sourcing and Record Keeping

6. Diplomacy

7. Fact-Checking on a Budget

This fact-checking module takes about an hour and a half to complete. At the end is a knowledge check and a short fact-checking exercise, which, to receive credit for the module, you must complete.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Define editorial fact-checking.
• Explain how fact-checking differs from reporting, copy-editing, and other related roles.
• Understand why fact-checking is an important journalistic process.
• Understand the basic workflow for fact-checking.
• Know how to properly source.
• Know how to spot common mistakes in reporting on science, health, and the environment.
• Know how to use diplomacy to work with writers, editors, and sources.
• Be able to integrate fact-checking even at cash-strapped or fast-paced media outlets.