Fact-checking in journalism

Credibility for a journalist is of the utmost importance, everything else is secondary. Keep this in mind to avoid undermining your credibility.

Markers of fake information

All information has a source, and it must be provided. An officially published document or an on-camera statement is the best kind of source. When the source is not provided, it is one of the markers of potentially fake information.

The phrases “to the best of my knowledge”, “it is known”, “it is obvious that” are also markers of fake information. A key quality of a communicator that can help prevent the spread of fake information is speed of reaction.

A set of principles and rules for journalists when verifying information from social media:

• Check the publication/account creation date and time
• Pay attention to the uniqueness of the content: distinguish reposts from unique posts
• Verify that the account is not a fake one and is officially verified
• Check the metadata of the published photo
• Pay attention to tags and geotags

Read a more detailed algorithm for verifying information for journalists in another article by the TASS news agency in the educational section.